


Ace and Anne

by EmeryldLuk



Category: One Piece
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Character, Devil Fruit, Family Drama, Fandom World, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Legacy of Gold Roger, Loyalty, One Piece AU, Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform, Other, Pirates, Siblings, Toast, Twins, aro ace, climbing to the top, i'm not the nice twin, rule the world together, stronger together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-28 06:51:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 41,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeryldLuk/pseuds/EmeryldLuk
Summary: Never alone, Portgas D Ace grows up with one crazy twin sister, Anne. She's trouble, but the kind of trouble you want on your side because she'll wreck things up for the people she calls family. Ace and Anne are twins aiming to rule the high seas together and there's plenty of problems for them to face together and alone.





	1. Just Children

Two children ran into the trees. behind them a large woman brandishing a cooking ladle and yelling at their retreating backs, a large stain across her shirt. Of the same height, the two kids would have been identical if not for one having strawberry blonde hair and the other black.

"That was awesome!" Ace cackled. he claimed a high five with his partner-in-crime. "Awful mess, but awesome."

"She's gonna be so angry with me when we go back though," Anne told him.

"Isn't she always angry with you? You're a klutz around the house."

"Not my fault they can't be neat about the pots and pans," she quipped. She jumped ahead at the bridge and ran across it with Ace on her heels.

"No, you just go out of the way to trip over stuff."

"I do not!"

He elbowed her as they jumped off the bridge back to steady ground. "You do."

She elbowed him back. "Does it matter?"

"Not really, just amusing. Race you to the Gray Terminal." He picked up his pace. She tore after him for a bit before clamoring up into the branches of the trees to follow from above. Her route rejoined him on the ground later when the slope increased and she slid down a fallen tree. Ace grinned and shoved her aside to regain the lead. Anne sprinted and tackled him at the top of the slope. The kids rolled together down the other side to the finish line.

"Not fair, you tackled me."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "You pushed me out of the way. fair's fair." Anne ducked away from him, making her way further into the Gray Terminal.

"Double A!" Ace and Anne looked up at the overlooking tree. Sabo waved at them. Ace and Anne climbed up the tree. "Take a tumble along the way here?"

Ace griped, "She wouldn't lose the race fairly."

"He pushed me first. Whatcha up to?"

"The usual gold digging. Not a good day though, didn't get anything big. What about you two?"

Ace snickered, "Anne made Dadan spill the broth all over herself. Funniest accident in a long while."

"So you two came right out here, again. So, predictable. Let's go fishing." Sabo jumped from the branch. Ace rolled his shoulders and went for climbing back down. Anne let out a whoop and jumped off the branch.

Ace quipped, "Are we sure you two aren't the twins? Or am I just the only partially sane person here?"

Anne and Sabo traded looks. Sabo snickered, "I'd say we're the sane ones and you're the insane one."

"But really I prefer you as my brother, Ace. I don't look anything like Sabo." Anne shrugged. "Course if you can't keep up, I'll ditch you anyway."

"You're worse than me," Ace told her. She laughed. Sabo rolled his eyes and whacked both of them on the head with a stick he picked up. They both glared at him.

He said, "You've got the same glare so settle it at that. If you keep nit picking, the sun'll set soon."

Ace and Anne shrugged together. Sabo threw his stick at them and ran on down a short gulley and the up the following bank. In synch, the twins ducked the branch and chased after him. Sabo sprinted a line out and then took a turn behind a tree and a line of bushes.

"You're not getting away, Sabo!" Ace yelled. He took off ahead of Anne and followed Sabo. When they got there, the boy had vanished. Then Sabo jumped out of the bushes behind them and ran in a new direction.

"Sabo!" Anne turned first and cut across to the new trail. Sabo ran on and then vanished into the foliage again. he surged out again, running onward, after they'd already passed him up.

Ace growled, "Split up. He can't run and hide forever." Anne rolled her eyes, making the jump over a hedge line to chase after Sabo. She lost track of Ace when he ran off in a different direction. Anne plunged into the undergrowth, following an animal trail that led in the same direction Sabo had gone.

Ace made one run for Sabo as he resurfaced and lost him soon after. He then followed the sounds from running.

It was the river that ended the game with Anne tackling Sabo into the water. Close behind, Ace stopped at the bank. Anne surfaced along with Sabo, grinning from ear to ear and shook out her hair. Sabo jumped on her from behind and they tumbled back under for a few seconds.

Ace joked, "You two done bathing?"

Sabo pointed, "It was her idea."

"Considering all those bushes you were running through, I thought you needed one," Anne remarked as she climbed out of the water.

"Well, you certainly smell better now."

Anne threw a punch at Sabo. He ducked and charged into her. She slipped in the mud and fell. Sabo ended up tumbling away and also landing on his back. Ace sighed and slapped his hand over his eyes.

"Do you guys have to do this? Sabo you said something about fishing."

Sabo laughed. "I did, didn't I. Yea, today would be a good day to go fishing. Don't you agree?"

"If fishing implies fishing you two out of the water, maybe. Can we stop fooling around and go to our spot then?"

Anne declared, "I'm going to punch someone if we don't catch anything."

Ace rolled his eyes. He held out his hand to her and pulled her to her feet. Sabo jumped to his feet and joined them to walk downstream by the river.


	2. Two is Better Than One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her world changing, Anne begins to act without her irreplaceable calm half. This is not necessarily a good thing.

The newest addition to the bandit home had a habit of being rather clingy. From the first day, whenever Ace and Anne left the house he would follow like an idiot. At first Ace just got mad and knocked him off into the ravine.

The days passed like that. Luffy chasing them out of the house. Anne started setting traps along the way, the most dangerous possibly being the pit fall that actually opened up into a cavern system home to dangerous creepy crawlies. When he walked in to the house two days later, Anne stopped eating her dinner to stare at him. Ace dug his elbow into her ribs.

"What?" she yelped quietly. He jerked his head towards their bedroom, his mouth still full somewhat of meat. She picked up her plate and pretended to skulk into the bedroom. Ace eyed Luffy warily as he followed his sister and found a place to sit.

"Are you so surprised about him returning?" he asked.

"Well, I did drop him into that one cave system." She picked at her food. "He returned fairly quickly for having to fight off poisonous scorpions and those snakes we saw."

"He's lucky is all."

She muttered." I doubt luck has anything to do with it. He's shown quite the tough side. At least with not dying."

Ace finished off the last of his meat. "He's a pain in the butt is what." He flipped a bit of sauce at Anne and it splattered onto her nose. "All we have to do is keep him from following us the entire way."

"Hey!" She wiped the brown liquid from her face. "It's just unnerving that he hasn't died yet."

The door squeaked open and Luffy peeked into the room. "What're you talking bout?"

Ace threw the blanket at him.

 

"He's getting away!" Ace seemed to yell at no one. Yet in the next moment, Anne dropped down directly on the fleeing man. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as tightly as possible. He turned and slammed her back into the wall in an attempt to dislodge her. She only hardened the choke hold and he leaned for another try.

Thwack! Ace slammed the end of his staff into the man's knee. Dusty suede jacket and tweed pants hit the ground in a slump and whimper.

Ace swung the staff around and put the end in the man's face. "Again. Hand over money and any jewelry you've got on you. We can always just knock you out and take it that way."

Hands fumbled and Anne caught the tossed wallet. She glared downward. "And that bag you've got hidden under your jacket. I'm not stupid, old man."

"Damn you, heathens!" He wrenched a brown wrapped package from behind his back and tossed it at her feet.

Ace picked it up and gave the man a good whack in the head. "Let's go."

"You let him run on purpose," Anne accused her twin.

"I wanted to know where you ran off to."

"And if I weren't there?"

He shrugged. "I'd have thrown my staff at him. where did you jump from anyway?"

"The roof. I got you this." She handed him a warm dumpling. "I already ate mine."

He stuffed it in his mouth. "You eat like a horse sometimes," He said with a full mouth.

"Ditto. What's in that package? It felt rather lumpy to me." She reached out to take it from him, but he pulled out of her reach.

"Mine. you got his wallet so check how much is in it."

She tossed it lightly from one hand to the other. "Enough, so just open before my curiosity wins me over."

Ace glanced behind them and then ducked into the shade of a closed down storefront. He carefully unwrapped part of the paper to reveal a pair of gold candleholders.

"Sweet," the twins chorused. Ace did a quick calculation. "This is probably the second biggest take we've gotten at once so far," he said.

"Good thing you took out that guy's knee. He is out big," She sneered. "No wonder he damned us."

Ace closed up the paper wrapping. "Best we get this back to the hiding spot quick. No need to risk losing it."

"You go ahead." Anne handing him the wallet. "I'm gonna go fish up some more cash on my own."

He stared at her. "We always work together, A. You've been acting weird ever since that kid showed up. What's going on?"

"I just wanna go on my own," She replied. "Maybe the idiot showing up just got me thinking. Don't worry about me. I can stay out of trouble just fine."

"I know that dummy. Just don't get carried away." He ran off down the street. Anne turned and entered the crowd. She matched the flow and watched the people she passed, looking for a good target. She passed up the women chatting over a display blouse and the girl seducing her boyfriend into buying her a new hair piece. She ignored the business men and the courier boys running about with a purpose. the girl delivering hot food from her father's restaurant wasn't worth the effort. The well dressed men in suits seemed likely, but nothing stood out.

It was the women that caught her eye. The ones wearing dresses full of frills and gathers. The ones wearing so many layers of skirts, they looked like a bell. The ones with shiny rocks hanging from their ears and fingers and necks. The ones with cherry red lips and colour over the eyes that highlighted the eyes. The ones with fancy shades that sparkled when the light hit them. Anne followed those women as each came to her attention. She tried to decide if they might be headed back home anytime soon and if they would be worth her time to shadow.

Finally there was one. She wore a slimming red dress with shiny white beads in the front lining her great chest. Her hair piled up on her head in a golden bun with little red beads in a string woven into it. matching white beads hanging from her ears. She held the hand of a well dressed boy in one and a purple paper bag in the other. The boy skipped along, talking excitedly about something that had happened that day. Anne hung back in the crowd as she tailed the pair.

She followed them to a nicer part of the city. Where the streets were clean and smelled of flowers. Big fancy houses lined the street where the lady turned and passed the gate of one of the houses. Anne paused to remember the flower pots on the second story balcony and then backtracked till she could get onto the roof from a different direction.

She stopped on the roof to stare out across the city. She'd ended up further into it than ever before and could see more of the ocean. Anne stood there admiring the glittering of the water for a good long time. A strong wind tugged on her shirt and she turned into it. She looked up to confirm the position of the sun and padded as quietly as possible to the edge and looked down. The startling three story drop gave her butterflies of glee, a feeling of absolute craziness she couldn't explain.

Anne gripped the edge, spun around and dropped over the edge. Once hanging, she carefully dropped onto the balcony rail and then to the balcony floor. She could hear the voices on the floor below, but nothing in the room next to her.

It was a lavish room with fancy wallpaper of flowers and exquisitely carved furniture. Anne cast a look around and spotted the jewelry box. a small wooden creation with lots of necklaces and earrings inside. She tucked the box under her arm and went back out onto the balcony. The quickest route would be back to the roof, but Anne didn't want to try that with a box of jewels in hand. So she jumped the rail and dropped to the window the next floor down and then jumped away from the house into the garden. A small garden, Anne squished a bluebell plant in full bloom upon landing. No one yelled at her from the house, but she did spy a face watching her from the second story window of that boy. Anne smirked and leaped over the fence and took off at top speed down the street.

One of the city's peace keepers spotted her running and instantly thought she was up to no good. He slapped his partner's arm to get his attention and pointed Anne out. Anne glanced behind her when he yelled for her to stop and just stuck out her tongue and kept going. She lost sight of keeping to a set track and got lost in the back roads and alleys and crowds of the market. She jumped dumpsters and dove between playing children for the guards to trip over. She jumped over walls and made shortcuts over low roofs and second level balconies.

 Anne eventually lost her trail in the portside marketplace when she hid in a group of sailor kids standing outside a bar. Some older than her and others looking the same age, she mimicked them by peering into the window. One of them started chattering to her absentmindedly about how his dad was a master gambler and got most of his coin in this bar. She nodded amiably, waiting for the guards to pass by.

With her path clear, Anne made her way down the docks to find her way to the gate. She reveled in the salty ocean air and the smell of fresh fish. No one looked at her funny because she walked around barefoot in an old pair of shorts and shirt that didn't even hide her scrawny arms. No one chased her because she looked out of place.


	3. Little Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne gets in trouble while saving Luffy's neck.

"Sneaking out to the city again?" Ace rolled over in his bedding to look at Anne by the door. "You'll get in trouble one of these days."

"I haven't yet though, have I?"

"Whatever you're doing is bound to gain attention with the good stuff you've gotten. You should stop. Come with us tomorrow morning instead."

Anne grinned. "This is too much fun to stop. If you're worried, come with me."

"You're the crazy twin not me. I'm not sneaking around the city at night, ya cuckoo."

"Scaredy-cat." She inched the door open and vanished like a ghost. Ace thought about how quiet she'd become over the last few days she'd been sneaking out. He lay back and stared at the ceiling. Sisters could be a pain sometimes. Especially when they look exactly like you.

Luffy snored loudly and rolled over in his sleep, kicking his blanket onto Ace. Ace dumped the scrappy thing back onto the younger boy and decided he'd rather sleep than fuss over his other half.

In the morning.

"Sabo! Sabo, are you here?" Ace made his way past the piles of rubbish to the tree. It was big and the branches thick. Sabo sat up and waved down.

"Heya Ace! You're late."

"Sorry about that."

"Did that kid you told me about slow you down?"

Ace shook his head. "Nah, I just did the job in town."

"Same here. Come on up and we can compare."

Ace climbed up the tree trunk. "No A today?"

"She's rummaging in one of the debris piles over that direction. Careful, she's in a bad mood. Whatcha got?"

Sabo opened the bag Ace tossed down and whistled.

Ace scanned the landscape for his twin. "Bad mood huh? She say why?"

"You got more than me, Ace. How'd you do it?"

"Some guys by the gate. They might have been carriers for a merchant ship. Answer my question, Sabo."

"Oh, Anne. She had a bad run-in with the law last night. Lost her goods."

"I warned her she'd have trouble. We've still got a lot though."

Sabo dumped the cash into the cache they'd created in the tree branch. "We've really got a lot of cash and gold here. I wonder how much we need to buy a pirate ship."

"Who knows. But, we still have a long way to go. Just close it and let's go find A."

"Yea, okay-"

"Pirate Ship?!"

Ace and Sabo froze and looked down in horror at the battered looking Luffy down at the base of the tree. Sabo groaned.

"You guys want to be pirates? Me too!"

"On three?" Sabo inquired quietly.

"One.... two..." Ace tensed as he spoke the last word and together they jumped down, pipes whirling. Sabo spun his staff, taking out Luffy's legs so he fell forward. Ace followed up by placing a blow to Luffy's head. Quickly, the two dragged Luffy to the tree and tied him up.

Sifting through various broken appliances, remnants of desks and lumps of moss, Anne searched for anything of use. She wasn't being picky, but a lot of the stuff had already been picked over by the residents of the Gray Terminal.

"Help!"

Anne stopped at the faint yell. It sounded like a child yelling, but she couldn't understand a reason for Sabo or Ace to scream. She spun the long metal pipe she used as a spear because one end had gotten sheared off by a sword and turned to the trees. Finding ways across rooftops had changed her way of running. Anne took less steps and focused more on good footing, almost bouncing along at high speed.

"Let go of me! Damn you!" Anne rounded a tree and spotted the cause for concern. Luffy had gotten himself caught by some big trouble. "Help me, Ace," he pleaded loudly. Anne frowned.

"Did you say Ace?" The bigger guy who spoke waited for Luffy to nod and then inquired, "Do you know him?"

Luffy allowed, "He's my friend! Oh, but he did try to kill me just now."

"I'm going to ask you one thing. Today, he took our money and ran away. Do you happen to know where it is?"

Luffy didn't reply right away. Anne tensed in fear, realizing that everything could go completely sideways depending on the kid's answer. "I- I- I do not know," Luffy croaked. The big guy cackled.

"We'll see about that."

"Let him go!" Anne ran halfway up the tree trunk and then jumped over backwards. in the air, she spun and drove her makeshift spear into the big guy's shoulder as hard as she could.

The thin metal spike drove down into his muscled flesh enough to bury the head. He let out a yell of agony and dropped Luffy out of shock.

"Luffy, run!"

"But, you, what," he blubbered incoherently. Anne glowered down at him, gripping her pipe with a death grip to avoid being shaken off.

"Just get the hell out of here, ya shrimp bait," she snapped. Growling out his anger and pain, the big guy gripped her spear and yanked it out. She managed to just barely hang on, ending up hanging in front of his face. She sneered and happily sang out in her best imitation of her brother, "Hi, I'm Ace. I'll kill you." Anne snapped her foot into his chin and dropped to the ground. He roared and swung his sword down at her head. Anne dove to the side.

"Stop, we need to know where he put the money, Porchemy!"

Porchemy hesitated, having raised his sword again. Anne sucked in a breath, spun and dashed away. There was a yell and they were on her tail. "Get 'im!" something sharp whistled past her head so she yelped and ducked her head. "Not in the head, already!" Anne zigzaged between a fallen tree and a clump of hedge bushes, using one of the branches she could reach to swing up.

Pain flowered in her leg. "Aah!" She hit the forest floor hard. a knife stuck out of her calf. Anne fingered the hilt and winced when it just hurt more.

"Can't run away now, can ye?" Porchemy laughed maniacally as he reached down to grab her.

Meanwhile, Ace smacked his head against the tree. "That. Freaking. Idiot! We could've just let them take him away and hide the stash."

"She's a girl. Maybe she just couldn't stand to let that happen," Sabo offered. Ace turned and gaped at him. "Okay, I guess not. she's not girly enough for that. can't you quit crying?" Sabo glared at Luffy bawling his eyes out.

Luffy sniffed. " But- but she saved me an- and."

"Shut up and quit blubbering!" Ace snapped at him. "A's fine. She won't get caught by those guys and crack so easily. Unlike you!"

"But she's still an idiot?" Sabo grinned and dodged as Ace lunged at him. "Chill. We'll move the stash and then go see if she needs help."

"What about him? We can't have him knowing where it is and risk losing it all again."

"Let's tie him up until we're done then."

Luffy squawked in protest, "I won't tell I won't tell. I definitely won't tell. Even if they kill me."

"As if! They'd hit a lot and you'd talk because no one likes the thought of dying."

Luffy shook his head. "No I wouldn't. If I told them I couldn't be your friend anymore, so I wouldn't tell them anything."

"You're crazy. That'd be better than dying anyday. Why the hell do you want to be friends with me so badly? It's your fault my sister's in trouble and you're a pain in the ass!"

"But I'd be alone! I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't have anyone else to be with. Being alone is worse than being dead. I- I'm sorry about your sister."

Ace paused to think. quietly, he asked, "What about parents?"

"Just grandpa."

"So If I weren't here... or Anne?"

"That'd be bad."

Ace turned away and started for the tree where they'd hidden the treasure. "He can help us, Sabo."

"Eh, why?"

"Cause, I don't think he'd spill the beans. C'mon and help move the goods. I want to go look for A."

 

Most of what was going through Anne's mind while Porchemy tried to beat information out of her was dinner. She was considering a good steak or perhaps she ought to catch a duck to share with Ace that evening. She was in the middle of debating the qualities of boar's meat over crocodile meat when she heard the sound of wood shattering. She opened her one good eye, the other being swollen shut by now, and watched a trio of kids go on a rampage. Two, she corrected herself, two kids on a rampage. Someone had let the shrimp bait in on the scam.

Sabo snatched a knife from one of the pirates and slashed Anne down. She somehow remembered to land on her good leg. "You look like hell," He told her.

"Sorry, Hell doesn't like me very much," She quipped. She did a quick recount of her injuries: stabbed leg, broken nose, very black eye, bruised ribs, dislocated shoulder and several scrapes and cuts. "Shoulder dislocated."

"Clench your teeth." he grabbed the indicated arm and wrenched it around, setting the bone back in place. She squeaked. "Can you run?"

"Probably, but..." She trailed off looking at her brother.

Sabo missed the point and yelled at Ace, "Let's get out of here!"

"Go on. I'm gonna finish this fight."

"No you're not," Anne growled. She jumped at him and kicked him in the head. Before he could get himself back together, she grabbed the back of his shirt and started dragging him behind her.

"A, Let go of me."

"Shut up, idiot. I feel terrible, I look terrible, and I want to eat a boar."

Ace regained his footing and actually took a good look at her. "Yer bleeding."

She hit him with his own staff. "No, duh! I just got brutally interrogated by a pirate."

"No, I mean, your leg. It's really bleeding."

"My le-aah!" her statement got lost in a wail of surprise when Sabo threw her over his shoulder.

"We need to move fast, Double A, so let's not argue over injuries. Just make sure Luffy doesn't fall behind."

"Put me down! I can run fine."

"Not a chance. Double Idiots. doing stupid stuff the same damn way every time."

"Excuse me," the twins chorused in harmony.

"Exactly my point. Shut up and keep running."


	4. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When continuing her nightly excursions, Anne comes across something surprising and unbelievable

Anne stood in the open window only for the moment it took to take a deep breath of night air. Unlike the daytime, no smoke plaqued her lungs at this height in the darkness. Inside, she dropped to plush carpets and laquered trim. She spotted the empty child's bed and wondered where the kid was if he wasn't sleeping. She didn't want extra trouble. The door opened soundlessly and her feet made no noise as they sank into the carpet.

It was a quick job. A silent entrance to the master bedroom where she located the jewelry and stashed it in her bag and then ghosted back out. The master of the house snored as he breathed out. The house was dark and quiet, suggesting no child. Anne frowned but stole downstairs to check for anything else of interest. The fridge revealed a good bit of meat which she wrapped up and stowed  along with a chunk of expensive cheese.

The Library revealed a hidden safe with a combination lock. Anne remember the first few she'd tried to open had not lead to good outcomes. Then she figured out the trick to cracking the code. She dragged out the money inside and headed back up to the bedroom she'd entered in. The emptiness of it confused her.

The bed was made up with a nice quilted blanket and linen sheets, but no one slept in it. The dresser proved to be full of boy's clothes when she opened it, but nothing was out of place. She'd already learned that boys are messier than a tornado with clothes. Anne found the picture frames on the desk laying flat. Anne picked them up and wondered why the face of the child looked so familiar.

"I didn't hear anything honey." A female voice floated down the hall.

"No, I definitely heard someone in our son's room." Anne heard the sound of a rifle being readied.

When the half dressed man peered into the room down the sight of his rifle, he found an empty room, open window and corrected picture frames.

 

"Run!" Sabo grabbed Anne's arm as he and the other two ran past. She was yanked away from the meat stall and stumbled a bit. It was the middle of the day, and they ran through the market with people yelling for them to watch out and guards yelling for them to stop. Anne's pouch banged against her hip, with a couple sausages filched from the stall without the owner noticing.

"What did you guys do?" she demanded.

Ace grinned. "Standard eat and run."

"Sabo!" the voice came from a man in the crowd. Sabo ignored it and plowed on.

"Do you know him?" Luffy asked, a couple noodles of ramen stuck to his nose and cheek.

"Must have mistaken me for someone else," Sabo replied. Anne shook her head as pieces started to fit in her head. the child from the photo she'd seen a couple nights ago, and the familiar male voice in the street, and Sabo's worn-out but sturdy clothes. They didn't stop until they were safely out of the city and into the trees.

Ace rounded on Sabo. "That guy that called out to you, you know him. How?"

"No, I don't! Why would I?"

"Because you almost freaked back there, so what are you hiding?"

Sabo shook his head furiously. "I'm no hiding anything."

Luffy almost believed him. Ace hit Luffy and told him not to. Anne flipped her spear around and swung at the two boys. Ace ducked and shoved Luffy in front of him as a meat shield.

"Hey! what was that for, A?" Ace stared at her.

Anne reset her spear and stabbed it into the ground. "If he doesn't want to say, then leave off. He'll tell when he wants to. We're friends, a family, so leave it."

Sabo grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her off balance a bit.

"Wha-"

"It's okay, I ought to say."

She frowned at him. "Can't be easy, so if it's too hard just don't."

He shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I just want to know, how do you know?"

Anne didn't bother to look over at her twin. "I saw a picture of you."

"Oh," Sabo seemed to drain of energy.

Ace belted, "Wait. What the heck are you guys talking about?"

"I'm the son of a noble family in that city."

Luffy said, "Who is?"

"I am."

"Is that so," Ace and Luffy said then. Luffy stuck his finger in his nose and went back to being nonchalant. Ace eyed his sister.

"How long have you known?"

She shrugged. "Since his dad yelled for him in the street. I didn't actually figure it out until then. We cool?"

"I'm a little stuck on how he ended up out here if he's a born noble."

"That's not important," She sighed. "Fine, you wanna fuss over such a little thing, do it on your own. I'm gonna go fishing."

"Ah, I, maybe..." Ace, frustrated with the whole day, gave up. "Sis, wait up!" He ran after Anne.


	5. Grandpa Garp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All her piracy has finally caught up to her and she's about to have yet another annoying conversation with Grandpa.

"Anne?"

She looked up, ready to fry the person with a glare. Anne lost interest when she saw his worried familiar face. "Grandpa."

"I heard you've been causing trouble. A lot of it."

"Only what was deserved."

She sat with the one concrete wall to her back. tight meshed grates formed the walls of the prison cell otherwise leaving just enough space to see out. In the corner, a bucket sat and a bench next to her. The floor was dirty, but it didn't bother her.

"What is deserved doesn't always mean we deal it out. I can get you out, but it'd be tricky to do it a second time. Questions I'd rather not answer, questions about why I'm bailing you out. And I think you know where that would lead for you and your brother."

A quiet "Yes" passed her lips.

"Then can you promise not to end up in prison again? Because the next time I won't come to get you out."

"I promise not to get caught by the authorities ever again," She stated. He grinned. Garp sucked in a breath and bellowed for the guard down the hall to open the door. Anne got to her feet and brushed off her shorts. It didn't help since the grit and dirt of the cell had worked itself into the fabric over the long days she'd spent in here, waiting for some sort of decision on her fate. The keys rattled as the guard found the right one and shoved it into the lock.

When the door creaked and groaned open, Anne walked out. Garp placed a hand on her shoulder, steering her down the hall in the fashion of a guardian. She didn't get back her favored pipe spear, but after some thought, she decided that didn't matter.

"So, tell me what's on your mind," Garp said to her.

"Dinner is what's on my mind. I've got a craving for crocodile."

"That is not what I meant and you know it."

Anne thought carefully. "It's all wrong. This world. What with Sabo being taken from us and then Grey Terminal." She tried not to focus on the memories of the screams. "You want us to become dutiful Marines, but I don't think it's right."

"This is a small corner of the world, Anne. It is not all the same here. there are better places. Pirates and Thieves cause discord and anarchy. My job would be easier with less of them."

"And without us," She grumbled.

"Now, don't talk like-"

"Like what!" She jerked away from him. "You said it yourself. You'd get in trouble if I got thrown in prison again. Without me and my brother, you'd have an easier time just going after the bad people. you wouldn't have to be so secretive."

He chuckled, startling her. "You are right of course. But I wouldn't trade having to protect your lives for anything else in the world. Now, your brother is waiting. Shall we continue?"

"How's Ace then?" Anne hastily added on as an afterthought, "And Luffy."

"Much better than you I presume. They have not taken to outright thievery of the Elite District. Though I have been informed that you have become quite good at it since I was here last."

"I suppose so. Ace doesn't have the sense of balance I do."

"And I think you're channeling his distress as well a your own."

"I always do that. It's simpler and easier to manage if one of us stays calm. Have you spoken to them yet?"

He waved for the gate to be opened for them. "A bit. I had to go there to find out you got locked up. I'm glad you two became friends with my grandson."

"Not for lack of trying on our part." Anne muttered. She shuddered as they passed the piles of trash. Most of it still lay charred and damaged. She ducked to the other side of Garp when she spotted one of the many lingering burnt corpses sticking out from under a broken fridge.

Garp touched her shoulder, the one now exposed to him more clearly. A jagged line cut across it to her tricep.

"You were hurt?"

"Yea... When Ace and I were trapped in the fire. We got into trouble with Bluejam....

 

"Ropes are cut!" Ace exclaimed. The three kids wriggled out of the bonds.

Luffy whined, "It's hot. So hot. Ace, it's hot."

"Shut it, Shrimp bait, or we'll ditch ya," Anne growled. She scanned the towering flames. "I really hope we can get out of this, Ace."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Don't worry about it, A. We'll get through this."

An explosion sounded to their right, sending sparks and rolling flames into the sky. Then the wind picked up and rained the flames onto their path.

"Run!"

"C'mon Luffy."

"Uwaaaah, It's Hooot."

"Would you quit complaining and just run?"

Anne squinted at the sky, so dark and black with smoke now. her eyes hurt. Ace focused on finding a safe path away from the flames which kept getting harder and harder.

"I wonder if there's anyone else here," Anne said to no one in particular. The screams of panic they'd heard at the start were covered now by the crackling and roaring of the heated air.

Ace grabbed her hand and yanked Anne out of the way of a piece of flying debris. "Doesn't matter. We gotta worry about our own lives right now. Luffy, keep moving!"

Luffy coughed and glanced at his hat. relieved that it hadn't caught fire he moved towards the other two.

"Who gave you brats permission to run, eh?"

Luffy cried, "Bluejam!"

Ace changed course, moving defensively closer to Luffy. "What the hell are you guys still hanging around here for?"

"None of your business. We're not happy to be here with ya either but whatever."

"Ace, let's get outta here!" Anne yanked on Luffy's hat to get him moving. They turned and moved down the incline.

"Don't let 'em get away!" Two of Bluejam's bigger blokes moved to block their path. "Whatcha so afraid of? We're pals, partners in crime now. We gotta stick together even in dying, dontcha think?"

"Not one bit!" Anne spun on the ball of her foot and threw her spear with the skill she used to take down giant boars and bears. Every muscle acted in coordination to give the pointed rod speed and accuracy.  Bluejam was faster, knocking the spear out of the air, and then laughing.

"You got spunk, brat, but not enough brawns to back it up." He pointed at her with his sword. "Grab her before she causes us more trouble like she always does."

"Try it if you can," She taunted, doing the crazy and actually dashing at Bluejam. He tried to catch her, but this time she was faster.

Anne moved to the side at the last moment, jumped into a roll and grabbed her spear on the way up. A scrawny guy that reminded her of a rat closed in. Anne swept her arm upward, putting a good slice right up his nose and patchy hat.

He yelled. A shadow in the corner of her eye made her jump aside. Her foot snagged on something and she slammed into the ground. Someone laughed and declared his victory. She couldn't see him, but she heard Luffy yell and hit something. Anne shook off the power cable that had wrapped around her ankle.

Anne rolled up and tried to go help Luffy. In that moment, Bluejam's sword came down nearly on her head. She came to a sudden halt. Ace yelled and everything stopped.

 

"Anyway," Anne diverted, "Stuff happened and I got hurt. Wouldn't have happened if everything wasn't, you know, ON FIRE!"

Garp sighed. "I had no part in that, Anne. What this city does is not under Marine control. I'm sorry you were there, but there's no point in blaming me."

"Well, I blame you and every stuck up, snobbish, well-dressed, asshat who thinks they can just waltz in and say what's right and what's wrong based on their clean, unblemished view of the world." Anne stomped her foot. "We weren't bothering much of anyone important out here. They just looked at the world Sabo loved and decided to get rid of it."

Garp did not reply. There was little he could have said to calm her and he had yet to say such a thing when she was in the mood to yell at him. Instead he motioned forward with one hand. "Shall we get you home then? Ace is distraught without you."


	6. Puberty Is Not Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years have passed and things are changing... A Lot. Ace learns that for Anne, being a girl isn't fun at all.

“Hey,” Luffy waved a gold gilded chalice in the air. “Look what I found today!” He grinned stupidly from his tree branch perch down on Ace. Ace spun his staff lazily in his hands, poking random bushes as he walked closer. The boys could have been mistaken for brothers by any stranger on a glance. Both had black hair and similar complexion and a strong brotherly bond. Ace however looked neater than Luffy being fourteen now. He also had a spread of freckles across his face. Luffy’s hair stuck out wildly to match his idiotic grin.

“Is it pure gold?” Ace yelled up. He was a little too distracted to be interested.

“Looks gold. Dunno if it be pure. We gonna go hustle someone today?”

Ace shook his head. “Not today. A’s not coming.”

Luffy frowned. “What’s wrong with her?” Ace always called his twin sister A.

Ace shrugged and climbed up the tree. “She wouldn’t explain it properly. Freaked out last night too.”

“Hehe. She throws a strong punch.” Luffy tossed him the chalice. Ace spun it in his hands.

“More like it came out of nowhere. All I did was ask her what was wrong. Lucky Dadan got her to calm down.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

“This isn’t worth it.” Ace chucked the chalice over his shoulder. “I want to go chase down a boar .”

"Boar's tasty. Cook it with some of that spiced oil and..." Luffy trailed off, drooling and lost in his day dream.

"However we cook it, that's for later. Let's go kill one first."

 

Anne passed them as she ran. Not on the ground, but through the branches like a squirrel. Ace and Luffy took turns trying to corner the boar as it squealed and pitched through the bushes. For a moment, a very brief moment she felt the desire to join them rise inside her, but quickly squashed the thought.

If there was one thing Anne didn't like, it was people she didn't approve of telling her what to do. So, when she noticed her body changing the night before, of course she got all emotional. her knuckles still ached from punching Ace in the head.

She continued course towards the ocean.

 

"Dadan! We got boar tonight!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly as they dragged a large boar each. He had a new shallow cut across his nose, but didn't care. Ace dropped his bounty by the door and looked about the room.

"Is that where ya been, ya rascals? there's other work to be done here too." While Dadan complained about them not helping around the house, others went to work at prepping the food. Ace sighed and found a place to sit. Settled into the corner of the room, and out of the way, he stared off into space, only vaguely aware of the dinner preperations.

"Ace!" he jerked upright in time to duck being hit by Dadan. "Act your age and help set up for dinner."

"Where's A?"

Dadan frowned at him. "She didn't say anything to you?"

"No. We didn't see her at all today. Where'd she go?"

"I sent her to that village Luffy came from. Can't have her possibly getting in trouble in the city. Now, I said something about setting up for dinner didn't I?"

Ace bolted out the door before anyone could complain much further. He remembered the route he'd taken when visiting Windmill village before. He just hoped he didn't get there too late into the evening.

 

The rain started  as he climbed over the last hill. Cloud cover stayed a light grey as water misted down on the village. Ace jogged through town to the pub where Makino worked.

"Is Makino here?" he asked of the man reading behind the counter. there was one drunkard leaning on the bar with a bottle knocked over in his hand. The old man looked up from his newspaper and squinted at Ace.

"Nah, she already went home. Whaddya want boy?"

"I'm looking for my sister, Anne."

"What does that have to do with Makino?"

Ace scowled. "Anne came here looking for Makino, old man. That's what. If you haven't seen her, then where can I find Makino?"

About to answer, the old man stopped, his mouth open as he focused on the doorway behind Ace.

"What do you want?" Anne looked strange with her hair tied up and wearing a jacket. "If you're here to talk, go home."

"I'm not going home. What are you doing here anyway?"

"None of your business."

"Does this have anything to do with you punching me last night?"

"You're nosy is what."

"I'm your brother. And you're acting weird."

"Not that it even matters how I'm acting. What I do isn't your problem."

"Unless you go and get in trouble, which happens a lot."

"And I get out of it just fine."

"Like that time you decided to raid an eagle's nest, got tangled in a vine and I had to cut you out?"

"That was last year, I don't mess up like that anymore."

"No, you just decide to punch me for absolutely no good reason and then won't talk to me."

"I had a reason."

"Then what was it?"

"You wouldn't leave me alone."

"You were freaking out. Course I'm gonna wanna know why."

"And I didn't want to explain it. You're a boy!"

"What does anything to do with me being a boy?"

Anne yelled, "Everything," and ran back out into the rain. Ace ran out after her.

"Anne! That doesn't make sense!"

Anne surged ahead of him. Ace groaned when she ran into one of the houses and closed the door hard. She ran inside and then up the stairs. hearing the noise, Makino came out of the kitchen with a bowl in hand.

"Everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Anne called down.

"Make sure you dry off, then. You'll catch a cold like that." Makino sighed and went to put the bowl away. She wondered how long Anne would take to get used to things.

There was a knock on the door. Loud enough to be heard, but not a pounding. "Anne," Ace called. "Please come out."

Makino opened the door. "Oh, you're quite soaked. Come in. I'll get you a towel."

"Thanks, but I'm fine like this." He stepped over the threshold, looking around for Anne.

She shook her head. "You two are so alike and yet you can't communicate? In, in. That way, take a seat." Makino prodded him towards the kitchen before closing the door and heading up the stairs. She considered making Anne go downstairs to talk, but decided against it. Instead, Makino simply grabbed a towel and went back down the steps.

"Where's Anne?"

"Upstairs, sit down!" Ace, half out of his chair, stopped and plunked his butt back down. "She obviously isn't in the mood to talk sense to you, so don't go making it worse."

"She hasn't been making sense for awhile now." He accepted the towel from Makino and dried off his hair. "You know what's going on?"

Makino pulled out a chair to sit. "There aren't any other girls that you guys hang out with at all, are there?"

"Not really," Ace said slowly. "It's just me and Luffy and her. We keep to ourselves."

"I see." Makino explained, "You should understand, it's not like she's going through anything weird. Anne just seems unable to accept it. If she had female friends that may have changed things."

"So, when she said me being a boy is the problem... oh."

Watching Ace realize just what was wrong brought a smile to Makino's lips and she giggled.

"You get it now. I'm glad at least one of you twins has a brain."

"Anne's smart, just, well, emotional."

"Sometimes too emotional. If you understand, give her some space. You can spend the night if you want. Or just wait for the rain to stop." Makino stood back up. Ace sat there for awhile while she finished up the dishes. When she completed that task though, he'd gone. She shook her head. "Twins all the same."


	7. A little bit of Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little transition moment. Anne coming to accept how she is and trying to embrace it while still remaining how she was as Ace's blonde double.

Anne twirled in front of the mirror. She was trying on new clothes in one of the city's many boutiques. The three years that had passed had certainly changed her outlook on some things.

"Nope, I liked that other one better." She yanked off the tight fitting shirt she'd been trying on and pulled a different one on. A green  sleeveless shirt with a deep v-neck and black lined edges. "Much better." Anne picked up her old button up shirt and slipped it on. It was the one she'd gotten a couple years ago after her growth spurt. It was black with a fancy cross on the back in white and red. The buttons had already fallen off, so it just fluttered open in the wind, not that she really cared.

She gathered up the discarded items and dumped them on the return cart outside the changing room. Ace snored in his chair where he'd sat to wait for her.

He woke up by hitting the floor. "What?"

"How the hell can you fall asleep while waiting for me? I wasn't busy that long."

"You woke me up before dawn. Course I'm going to be tired, A." Ace shoved back to his feet and dusted off. "That's what you chose?"

"Yup," she confirmed happily.

"Looks exactly the same as what you had before. black shirt, green shirt, black shorts, and you're still going around barefoot."

"Shoes are terrible for grip and balance when climbing heights."

"Shoes are there to protect your feet from sharp objects on the road. What kind of logic are you using?"

"The kind that I learned running around barefoot as a kid. Quit complaining about my clothes, ya ruffian. I don't see you changing your look at all."

"I don't need to get new clothes for a growing chest." Anne punched him in the head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"For referencing my chest. I don't like it anymore than you do. Quit whining and let's get out of here."

"You're a bossy little thing. Don't even need me for this sort of run."

She grinned, still walking. she flipped a coin at the shop keeper as she passed him. "No, but you'd have been looking for me, brother with a sister complex."

"Sometimes I think about not taking you with me on my ship when we leave tomorrow."

"And then you remember how much effort you'd have to put into fighting without me," Anne countered. "Face it. you may be the captain, but you can't get anything done on your own."

"Come here, Imp. I'm going to beat you up for that." Ace reached out into empty space. Anne sprinted down the street, laughing. "Get back here!"

Anne led him on a wild chase through the back streets and then to the rooftops. Where she proved able to scale the walls of houses and stores with ease, he found ways up using hand holds and window ledges.

He caught up with her at the harbor wall. She grinned and tossed him a meat bun.

"Wha- when did you have time to get this?"

"While I was running away from the slow poke. Sit down before you wear yourself out." She took a bite of a second bun in her hand. Below the port and land fell away into the glistening blue waves of the ocean.

"You did that on purpose," he accused. Ace sat down next to her on the ocean side of the wall.

"Did what on purpose, the running, the stealing, or the throwing?"

"Pissing me off. you always do that when you want to talk to me alone."

"Oh that. yea, probably." She chewed up another bite of the bun. "I love sitting up here and imagining the places we'll see after setting sail."

"I remember you lost that hat of yours up here."

"I'll get a new one. So, what do you want to do?"

"I'm thinking we head for the grandline," Ace replied.

"And here I thought I was the crazy one."

"You are the crazy one. You're the one that's not freaking out over it." He nudged her with his elbow. "We sail east across the ocean gathering a crew of misfits to keep you out of trouble."

She shoved him back. "You mean keep you out of trouble. I can take care of myself just fine."

He laughed her off. "Rack up some points to annoy the Marines and get ourselves a bounty. And then get to the Grandline. We'll have a ball I'm sure."

"Heh, you know what we need for sitting here? Sake. Sake would make this moment better."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Why do you always think with your stomach at such weird moments?"

"Cause I get hungry. Maybe Luffy's rubbed off on me a bit."

"Maybe you're just messed up in the head."

"Whatever the reason, tomorrow we start a new adventure. Let's just enjoy it to the fullest."

Ace mused, "You're right. we need a bottle of sake."


	8. High Tide and Bonfires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well into their world wide journey for fame and fortune as Pirates, Ace and Anne are taking a break on land when Anne is kidnapped by bounty hunters.

The small tavern was a dinghy place with spider webs on the ceiling and floors that didn't get washed often enough. But it was cheap, and for a pirate crew short of cash and trying not to get rounded up by bounty hunters and marines, it was a perfect place to relax.

Jimmy Sparrow, a skinny guy with a knack for cheating at cards and a machete at his belt sat across from two others at the table. He kept his curly brown hair short and wore an eye patch over his left eye with a spade embroidered on.

To his left slouched a cowboy looking guy with shoulder length light brown hair and a bit of a goatee. Andres Gregors glowered over the edge of his cards at his companions, wondering which one would drop out next.

The last card player bent over the table. tall and skinny with his black hair shaved back into a mohawk. He usually liked to be called Shadow over his name of Chris Messer and favored the kukri tucked into his pants belt.

Taking up the most space at the bar was George Remmond. With a body width twice the normal man, he also held pride to an enormous appetite bigger than the captain or the first mate. Today he worked his way through an order of twelve dishes that the tavern had hesitantly served up. He helped it down with mugs of ale and sometimes got his sideburns wet.

Sitting at the bar a couple stools over was Alexander. he preferred to spend time with his collection of snakes and now sat with a female green and black one, allowing it to share in his pile of chicken pieces. He wore a turban about his black hair and a fall jacket tied about his waist.

In the corner of the room hidden by the open door, the two Breanen Brothers lounged with several bottles of Sake in front of them. Jalaxe was an average guy with a stocky build and a head band about his forehead. Derik held to a taller, slimmer but toned body. he wore a flower patterned dark blue scarf around his neck.

Harper held in his hands the local specialty brew half drunk, conversing with the captain on weather predictions for the following week. A deep hooded jacket hid his face in shadows, though his full dark blonde goatee shone in the light.

Young compared to most of the motley crew he and his sister had gather, he wore black shorts and an unbuttoned pale red shirt that went well with his necklace of red beads. He found a certain calmness in talking over the mundane subjects with Harper when they took port during a storm. It helped to keep his mind off all the things his sister could mess up during the stay.

Luckily for him, the girl had decided not to run around in the pouring rain tonight and make something explode for the fun of it. A rolled up light green scarf served to hold her curly blonde hair behind the ears. She mimicked her brother's style with a pair of black shorts and boots. She wore a black vest stylized with red lilies open to show the deep forest green camisole underneath. Two interlinked A's were tattooed onto her right shoulder.

Out of nervousness, the barkeep stayed behind the kitchen door unless someone bellowed for him. The pirates were good mannered enough, but they'd chased away his usual customers by shooting the ceiling and yelling.

Lost in conversation or food, no one except Anne noticed the rain soaked girl dash in the door. She panted from a brisk run and dripped on the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, noting the small crowd for a weekend night. She spotted Anne looking at her and bobbed her head in greeting. Anne merely picked up her drink and downed a large mouthful.

The girl finished ringing out the water in her dress and placed herself at the counter between George and Alexander.

"Excuse me?" She inquired to the half open door. "Someone there?"

The barkeep opened the door a second later. "If you're here for a meal, we don't have much left."

"Then I'll just have a cup of hot tea please." he nodded and retreated into the kitchen for a few minutes. The girl turned while waiting and froze on the spot. Alexander's snake turned to look at her with slight interest and decided she was too big to eat. It swiveled back to the pile of chicken and downed another strip of meat. The barkeep came back with her cup, but had to prod her a couple times before she unfroze.

"Oh," she jerked back to reality and accepted the cup. "Thank you very much." With her free hand she dug out a few bills for the man. Having paid, she walked over to the table where Anne sat. "Do you mind?" She asked, motioning to the empty chair.

Anne looked at her brother and Harper, both of which just shrugged. She then replied. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." The girl took the remaining chair and sat down with her tea. "I'm Shari, by the way."

Anne pretended to be busy taking a drink, allowing herself time to study the stranger in front of her. "I'm Anne. Are you a local?"

"Somewhat. I'm from the town down the road. Just here for a quick errand if only it hadn't rained." Shari let out a sad sigh and raised her cup for a sip. "So, does that mean you're not from around here?"

"Far from it. My brother and I like to wander a lot." Anne waved lazily to Ace. "We're from East Blue."

"Just you and him? Sounds like a rough journey."

"Not really. We don't travel alone. But any journey has it's bumps I'm told."

"Then what do you do? Do you guys travel with merchants or maybe artisans?"

Anne laughed quietly. She shook her head. "Nothing like that. I don't think I could stand to travel with a merchant sort. Too boring and quiet."

"How can you see merchants as boring? They get to travel and bring cool items from other places."

"Have you ever spent time with a merchant?" Anne asked, somewhat annoyed at the girl's chipper attitude.

She colored a slight pink in the cheeks. "Not for very long, no."

"Most merchants are extremely annoying to deal with and not very talkative if they won't benefit. They're the first to run from a fight and the last to actually use common sense. As I see it, that's boring."

"You going to chat like a silly girl all night, Anne?"

Anne scowled at her brother. Ace frowned at Shari. He continued, "You sound so weird talking like that."

"At least I don't sound like a prissy noble lady, Asshat," Anne retorted. "There's things worse than hearing me talk to another girl for once."

Shari giggled. Ace now frowned at her. "What's funny?"

Shari grinned. "You. You're annoyed with her for being a girl."

He explained, "She doesn't act like a girl most of the time. Honestly, she's creepy when she does."

"Well," Anne quipped, "Excuse me." She stuck her nose back in her mug and focused on drinking the last of the liquid within.

"C'mon, A. Don't you find it just a bit strange the way you change attitude around other girls?"

Anne ignored him.

"Maybe she's lonely. Being surrounded by guys all the time can be suffocating, can't it," Shari suggested with a small laugh.

"I doubt it. I think she does it to confuse me."

"Maybe that's a little..."

Anne drained her mug and slammed it down on the table. Shari jumped a little in her chair and stared at Anne. "Maybe I'll just go be a girl somewhere else. Who knows, I might have fun while I'm at it." The chair grated, sliding the foot away from the table. Anne rocked to her feet and swiped Ace's hat from where it hung off his chair.

"Hey," he cried in protest. She stuck her tongue out at him and stormed out of the tavern.

Shari  rose a moment later and ran out after her. Quiet during the whole argument, Harper now burst out laughing. His laughter carried to Alexander who was close enough to understand the situation. Ace turned and scowled at the pair of them.

"What's so funny?" He growled.

Harper struggled for air, half choking on the hilarity. "Ace... Captain... you have no clue how silly that sounded." To compound his statement, Ace turned from annoyance to absolute confusion. "Take it from me as an older man. Girls will be girls. even oddities like your sister. And yes, she does do things just to spite you from time to time. but her acting like a girl isn't one of them."

Ace blinked, his gaze still on Harper, but his thoughts elsewhere. Finally, he sighed and turned to the empty mug next to him on the table. "Does anyone know how much she had to drink?"

Alexander estimated, "Three, I think. Can't really be sure with that one."

"Fouhr," George managed past a leg of chicken. "The girl drank four."

Ace let out a loud groan and rocked back in his chair, letting the front two legs come off the floor. "I hate it when it rains. Always some sort of trouble, and she's drunk."

"She might not do anything tonight. That girl," Alexander fished in his mind for a name and came up short. "That girl ran out after her."

"I hope you're right, Alex. Otherwise, I'm going to have more trouble than a simple migraine in the morning."

Alex stroked his snake under the chin. "Family is always a mess. That's why I left mine behind."

"You mean besides them not wanting anything to do with a crazy son that befriends snakes?" Harper grinned at the turbaned man when he scowled.

"Let's not talk about dead history, Harper, Alex." Ace came crashing back to the ground with a wooden tone. "If Anne doesn't show up at the ship tomorrow morning, I'll go looking for her. I'm not dealing with her antics tonight."

From the poker table, Andres yelled, "That's great! Then will you come over here and beat Jimmy's cheatin' ass for us?"

Harper nodded to the poker game. "Best way to get your mind off of things, that be for sure. Have fun. I'll be the old man and go look out for your sister."

"You're not old, Harper," Ace told him as they both stood. "Just the only person she bothers to listen to anymore."

"Ain't that something," Harper joked.

Shari fell short of actually walking with Anne down the street in the rain. After running out of the tavern, she slowed to a walk far enough away so that she could just see Anne. Anne didn't bother to look back and if she had, Shari stuck to the edge so she could duck out of sight.


	9. More Bonfires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One small town and two bounty hunters learn why you don't mess with the Portgas Twins.

Shari couldn't believe her good luck. It hadn't taken long for her to get the girl and her brother on the outs and the girl to seek solitude. Most nights she'd had to end up hitting on the boy to get him alone. Tonight it was either or. Both of them held equal bounties to be collected.

Convinced now there would be no problems, Shari ducked into the next narrow alley and whistled a note from high to low. After a moment's wait, a return whistle mimicking hers could be heard from further down the road.

Anne paused when she heard the whistles, but soon shrugged it off and trudged on. She knew that eventually Ace or Harper would come out into the rain to look for her. After all, she thought to herself, this wasn't the first time and neither would it be the last time she and Ace got into a stupid fight while drinking.

Leaving the tavern in his raincoat, Harper started down the road at a jog. He moved slowly, turning his head to see the sides of the road.

Shari cursed to herself when she spotted not the brother but the older man on the road. She undid her sash and twisted it into a rope between her hands. The moment he moved past her hiding place, she lunged out, lifting her rope over his head, around his neck and jerking it back to her. His balance suddenly gone, he slipped on the wet stones that paved the road and fell over backward. Shari jumped to the side as he crashed down with resounding crack of his head. he groaned, but didn't get much further than a sitting position before he spiraled into unconsciousness.

Shari glanced in the direction of the tavern. Satisfied that no one else had followed him, she dragged the man into the alley a ways by his arms. It took her several minutes to do so, having to pause every couple feet to rest.

"Sweet?" Shari spun to his voice from the opposing end of the alley.

"Dirk," she greeted. "Everything go well?"

He held Anne slumped over his shoulder. "She landed an elbow to my ribs, but chloroform always gets the job done in the end. What were you doing just now?"

Shari straightened her sash and re tied it about her waist. "One of her pals from the Tavern came looking. Unfortunately, he's not one of the guys with a bounty. Shall we go then?"

He gave her one of those looks that screwed up his face. She put her hands on her hips and waited. He said, "If I didn't know you better... yea, let's get going before anyone else shows up."

The rain stopped by the time Harper came around. He reached a hand to the back of his head and felt the lump there. He groaned and looked up. The darkness swallowed the building walls into the sky with little difference.

His raincoat had kept him from being soaked by the rain, but he still shook from the chilled air. Harper got to his feet and made his way back to the light.

He couldn't remember much beyond the feeling of his neck snagging and then slipping in a puddle. There had been someone there. He checked his pockets and found that he still had his wallet.

He breathed a sigh of relief and then sucked it back in just as fast. He took one glance around and then started jogging, eyes on the ground.

Further down the road, Harper found the hat Ace always wore. It had rolled to the edge of the street and stopped, upside down by a newspaper bin. Here too, he stood by an alley, though one wider than the other.

After spending a long while looking for more clues, Harper returned to the tavern. He walked in as the others were getting ready to leave. Alexander, all wrapped up in his cloak with the snake, prodded Ace to turn to the door. Ace's smile toppled from his face.

"Harper, what's with the frown?"

Harper handed over the bright orange hat. "I lost track of her and later found this. That girl Shari too. I didn't see her in the street."

Ace inquired, "What's so bad? She's flighty and she probably just dropped it and didn't notice."

"Except the reason I lost track of her is because someone caused me to lose my balance and crack my head on the pavement. If not for that, I'd agree with you."

A silence dropped as everyone else in the room waited for the expected explosion from Ace. He stood there with a sad look in his eyes as he looked at the hat in his hand. Finally he jammed his hat back on his head and looked right at Harper.

"Show me the place."

"Eh."

Ace repeated stronger, "Show me the place." Harper nodded and led Ace to the place where he found the hat. Ace struck a flaming hand into the newspaper bin, sending up a tower of bright flames.

"Here we go," Jimmy muttered. he took out his personal set of cards and slid out the top card. "What do we destroy next?"

Ace eyed the two buildings on either side. "Find something that will explode." He wandered down the alley, using his own hand to light his way. Behind him, one of the guys broke open a door to get inside. Soon after they could hear an explosion.

Harper slowly approached Ace. "What's going through your head?"

"I'm going to get her back. That's what. And someone in town is going to tell me where she is."

"So..." Harper turned and looked at the building fire. "This is your way of doing that?"

"Yea."

"I think it suits Anne's style more than yours."

Ace sighed. "The only reason she has the higher bounty is that she likes fighting all the time. And goes overboard. This is me. She'd just burn the whole town right off the bat."

"Okay you got a point there. Eh, looks like we've got heroes."

Out on the street, the people living in the area slowly woke up and ran outside to help, but at this point Ace's crew blocked their path. Ace let a fireball burst just over one man's head.

"My name is Portgas D Ace, and you're all going to shut up!" Ace bellowed angrily. He waited till he could only hear the flames behind him. "Now, not more than a couple hours ago, my sister was abducted right where I'm standing. One of you is going to tell me how to find her. Otherwise I'll continue to burn down the whole town!" He turned his hand on fire again. Some of the closer spectators backed up a couple steps.

He waited a long several seconds. Yelling, he turned and shot a stream of fire at the next building in the line. Glass shattered and items inside quickly caught and started sending billows of smoke out the broken windows.

"I'm not joking!"

One of those who stood somewhat in the back came forward, a housewife in her late thirties. "You should calm down, young man. Losing your temper won't do you or your sister any good."

"You want to give me information or lecture me like some brat?" He snapped.

"Both. You'll want to look in the Forest Hill Manor. It's always visible there, see?" She pointed off into the distance. In the darkness above the town, lights showed from windows far away. "But a warning, it's most likely a trap. Those two are experienced bounty hunters and not to be taken lightly."

"I'm hardly going to worry about taking anyone lightly when they've got the nerve to take my sister," He told her.  Behind him Chris nudged Andres with his elbow.

"I'm just worried about what she'll do when she wakes up," Chris told him. They both snickered. Ace spun on the ball of his foot and glared at them.

"If that's all, let's go."

 

Up on top of the hill, Shari and Dirk shared a bottle of wine on the balcony. They sat at a table there, looking over the trees to the town. Behind them the light was on in a large reading room. One wall was covered end to end with bookshelves. A corner couch, love seat and a comfy lounge chair formed a small circle to one side while on the other stood a stone table with matching chairs. Directly centered in the room, a wooden pillar had no apparent purpose for anything except allowing the bounty hunters to bind their prey to something.

In this case, Anne sat with her hands cuffed behind her and around the pillar. Having woken only moments ago, her head still swam uncertainly. She tried to adjust her position only to make it worse and shifted back.

She could hear Shari laughing outside, but none of their conversation came through clear enough. She looked up and found the ceiling. Seeing the column connect at the top, she looked back down to fight the dizzy feeling and the pain that started up.

Anne tapped the heel of her left boot on the floor and heard the satisfying soft tap of a needle point on tile. Moving carefully, she folded her leg under to her hands. Her fingers scurried over the rubber sole of her boot till they found the slot in the back and started teasing out the lock pick hidden there.

She could hear something exploding violently outside as she got the lock pick out. The man with Shari moved swiftly to his feet and to the rail. They spoke in serious tones now as another explosion could be heard even closer.

Shari and Dirk ran back inside and rushed past Anne, who pretended to still be unconscious. Listening to the sounds of their running feet and the growing sound of fire outside, Anne picked the lock of her cuffs with difficulty. Outside, a tree fell into the balcony. One of the glass doors shattered and part of the balcony cracked and fell. Surprised, Anne jerked and dropped the lockpick.

"Damnit," she cursed loudly.

Leaves blew in on a hot wind through the broken door. Anne began feeling around on the floor for the lock pick. The heat began to grow and smoke climbed outside, glowing in a reflective orange. Cool metal brushed her searching fingers. She scrabbled to pick up the small object and twist it in her hands.

A shockwave of sparks blew the intact door inward into shards. Anne curled away, bits of glass slicing across her cheek. “God Damn you, Ace!” She yelled at the top of her lungs.

With an inaudible snap, the cuffs popped open. Anne tripped to her feet and ran to the door. She kicked it open and dashed through the hall till she found a wide spiral staircase to slide down. When she hit the ground, she bent at the knees. A fire ball whistled past, exploding on the marble wall.

“Are you a friggin’ idiot?” Anne screamed at her brother as she closed in on him.

“Anne! You’re okay,” he exclaimed. She punched him in the jaw.

“No thanks to you. Leave the wanton destruction to the one who does it best next time.”

Chris put one hand on Ace’s shoulder and the other on Anne’s. “Sorry to break up the reunion fight, but we’ve done a number on the infrastructure. Can we go before there’s a funeral?”

Anne opened her mouth to call Ace another kind of idiot, but he just took hold of her shirt and pulled her along the hallway. They reached the outdoors soon enough. Anne lost her voice in staring at the trees alight like torches. Strips of grass burned to embers. A tree lay across the path leading out. Sitting on the trunk, Dirk lit his pipe as if he had all the time in the world to smoke it. Ace slowed to a stop several yards from the road block and relit his hand aflame.

“Reports said that the girl was more likely to destroy things. So, I’m sure you can understand my confusion by this assault,” Dirk commented. He looked at the sky and blew a smoke ring. “Burning the buildings in town. A good scare. But just setting the mansion on fire? A little overkill isn’t it?”

“No one touches my sister. Ever.” Jimmy and George ran towards them from around the mansion’s right side. Jimmy carried a smooth wood staff with spiral tipped ends. He held the weapon out to Anne. She snatched it up, gave it a spin and ran at Dirk.

Dirk jumped out of the way. The tip of her staff dug into the wood of the tree trunk. Unstopped, she swung sideways, bringing the staff around in a loop when Dirk moved back and stroked downward. Sparks flew as the metal contacted the bricks of the pavement. Anne chambered and rushed forward in a straight charge. Dirk side stepped her with stoic ease, a cocky smile creeping over his face.

No scream came out of his mouth when his body caught fire. One moment he and Anne were looking at each other, both grinning and the next, Ace set the man aflame with a large burst of fire he liked to call Hiken. Dirk spun a couple times, waving his arms wildly and then turned to dust on the grass.

“Nothing is more scary than the two of you fighting on the same side,” Andres announced with a bow upon arrival. “I only wish that was the only fighting you did. Oh,” he dragged Shari into the light. “what shall we do with this one?”

Anne spun on the ball of her foot and stuck her nose in the air. “Don’t care. Have fun with her if you like.”

A couple of the guys snickered evilly. Ace rolled his eyes. Shari’s eyes went buggy and she tried to pull away from Andres. “No, please no. I won’t go after you again. I promise. I couldn’t do it without Dirk anyway. Just don’t leave me to that fate.”

Anne spun again and strode right over to Shari. “You’re right. You will not chase me or any of my brother’s crew again. What you will do is tell others of how you failed. Tell them that you crossed the wrong pirates and this is the fate in store for any others. We are Ace and Anne of the Spade pirates and we are not such easy targets.” Anne gave Andres a stern look. With a disappointed grunt, Andres released Shari, allowing the girl to run away.

Ace put his arm around Anne’s neck. “Well, A. You certainly know how to raise our renown. She was a cute little piece.”

Anne filched his hat off his head and skipped away just as fast. “I hear I’m pretty cute too,” she teased. He swore and gave chase, his crew a little slower in following.

 


	10. Too Early to Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day on the high seas, with Anne being a little too high on life and a mostly pleasant surprise.

Ace looked up out of habit when he stepped into the salty sea air from below deck. As usual for her, when Anne was nowhere below, she was up in the rigging. Sometimes she was quiet and other times she liked to play a funny reed pipe called a flute with lots of little holes down the side. Tonight, she was singing a sea shanty in her quiet voice. For her that still meant you could hear her half a mile away.

“She’s on a loop, Captain,” Jimmy reported from the quarterdeck. “Been singing about Ol’ Captain Jack for the last hour I think.”

“Captain Jack and his never ending barrel of rum,” Ace mused, walking out to the prow. “That’s her most favorite after Bink’s Sake. You said we sighted land?”

“Aye.” Jimmy, light on his feet, was next to Ace in a flash with the spyglass. “Right at twelve o’clock.”

Ace took a look through the glass. Anne turned to a verse that was particularly lewd. He asked Jimmy, “Did someone give her alcohol?”

“No. I checked right after she went up there and started singing. All the rum and sake is accounted for.”

Ace turned and bellowed up at her, “Change the tune will ya?”

She stopped and called back, “Getting embarrassed?” Then to spite him, she started the verse over from the start. Ace glowered at her. Thrusting the spyglass back at Jimmy, he jogged over to the rigging and climbed up like a monkey. Anne laughed at him.

“You’re too easy,” she told him.

He weaved his arm through two of the lines and settled back on the rigging next to her. “I just find the verse very suspicious coming from your mouth. I always think you’ve had something to drink.”

“I can hardly get something to drink with how this crew guards the casks.” Anne looked ahead. “I think that would be your fault.”

“With good reason. Last time you drank on ship, you set the crow’s nest on fire.”

“I’m pretty sure that was you setting it on fire,” Anne disagreed. Ace shook his head.

“No that was you. You decided to make Molotov cocktails up there and something exploded. Next thing we know, the nest is on fire and you’re laughing your head off in the rigging.” Anne started laughing hard and long.

“That  does not sound like something I would do,” she said when she stopped laughing. “I’m very careful when I plan to make something burn.”

“They call it being drunk for a reason. Can we go down now? I think my arm is falling asleep.”

“You can go back down. I like it up here.”

Ace peered at the deck and waves below. “I will never understand how you can enjoy teetering around up here so much.”

“Your lovely common sense just gets in the way too much.” She smiled when he gave her a look of disbelief. “However much you want to deny it, it remains that you listen to yours more than me. Now, go get me a drink.”

“Not in a thousand years,” he refused and descended to the deck. Anne giggled to herself. Ace had a nagging thought that she’d become ever more reckless lately. More often than not she would start a fight if they stopped at a place with a bar of any repute. Then there was her new love of swinging around on the mast and the rigging.

“Everything alright?” Jimmy asked when Ace returned to the prow.

“Just her normal crazy. At least she’s finally quiet.”

"Aye to that. Something's bothering you though."

Ace shook his head. "Nothing really. The usual worry about what my sister is getting herself up to."

"I still wonder if you two are really related. You're so much, in control of yourself than she is."

Ace lifted himself onto the rail and faced Jimmy. "I think that's because of how we grew up. After losing a close friend, she went off the rails and I ended up having a very bad time keeping her out of trouble. Especially after she started turning.... girly."

"Turning girly?" Jimmy chuckled. "How bad was it?"

"She freaked out, ran away, became even more of a thief, started fussing over clothes, became far more emotional in her fighting style. The way she is now, only more haphazard."

"Sounds fun. I'm expecting a port somewhere on this island. Just fair warning."

"Appreciated. I can't imagine anymore what she might get up to given the chance. Or maybe I just don't want to." Ace dropped off the rail and made for the galley. Jimmy called after him.

"Try not to trip on the chairs. Andres was playing"

The island looked like a big dark shadow in the night. They dropped anchor offshore and half the crew went ashore to take a look around. Ace and Anne set off together with a personal torch across the shadowy beach, scanning the shadows of the tropical jungle that covered the middle of the island.

Anne whistled the tune to a drunken sailor as she skipped along behind her brother. Ace tried his best to ignore her while he walked with his hand a ball of flame. However, when he discovered himself humming the tune with her, he let out a growl of frustration and stopped in his tracks.

"Ace?"

He spun on his heel. "What is going on with you, A? You never whistle because your tone is worse than when you sing."

Anne whistled one last note and shrugged. "So, I decided to whistle. What of it?"

"Singing in the rigging? That swing you made last week off the mast? Your stint before that in town where you played hide and seek with Jimmy and Harper? A, you are acting weird."

"No, I am not." Anne put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, getting nose to nose to him. "And you are overreacting to a little change. There are voices nearby. Wanna check it out?"

Ace frowned, listening closely to the croaking of a frog nearby. "I don't hear anything."

She put a finger to her lips. He gave her a tolerant look and stayed quiet. The longer he stood silent, the more he heard nothing. Ace shook his head and moved down the beach.

The strapping man that barreled out of the black flew right through Ace's body. Flames curled in the space he had disturbed. Anne opened her mouth to yell a query when a large body pulled her down to the sand. A squeak escaped her lips on impact.

"Hey," Ace roared and threw a fireball at the guy holding Anne. The stranger scrambled to strip off his polo before it burnt up completely. "Keep your paws off my sister!"

"Crap, he's a logia user," the first of the ambushers cursed.

Ace turned to look when he heard rustling in the bushes, but it was from people running away, not towards him. He glared at the man he'd singed.

"You," he jabbed, " Explain why you jumped us or I'll barbeque you."

The man put his hands in the air as if he could stop a fireball so easily. "Okay, okay, no need to cook me. You were just getting a little close to camp for our tastes."

Anne dusted sand from her shorts. "I told you I heard voices."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Yes, you were right. Who's camp?"

"Red hair pirates."

Anne and Ace looked at each other. They chorused cheerfully, "Shanks."

After easily convincing the two pirates to take them to their leader, the siblings were escorted into the jungle. Anne stumbled once before her eyes adjusted to the shadowy terrain.

"What are the chances?" she giggled to Ace.

"Apparently, fairly good," he answered. "You okay?"

She leaned forward to look him in the eye. "I kick butt for you. What do you think the answer is?"

"Just checking. I care, okay?"

"Not unless I'm bleeding. I can take a hit better than you."

He retorted, "You aren't made of fire. You might remember that I wasn't tackled."

"And you never learned to pay attention."

"I listened," he insisted.

She attested, "For three seconds."

The pirate walking in front of them, now known as Fredrick, turned and said, "We've arrived."

He pushed aside the outlined branches to another stretch of beach. This one was lit by several fires surrounded by pirates laughing, dancing, singing and generally being merry with drink.

"Shanks, you have guests!"

The lanky red haired man raised his mug. "Excellent! Have a seat. Have a drink. The more the merrier."

Ace said, "No thanks." Anne rebutted his statement by flopping down next to a man with a long nose and accepting the offered liquor. "Anne."

She grinned up at him, reached up and pulled on his shorts, forcing him to either sit or be de-pantsed. "Loosen up, Ace. No harm in a little sake."

"So," Shanks assumed. pointing at them, "Ace and Anne? Siblings?"

Ace responded, "Twins actually."

Shanks studied first Ace and then Anne, nose deep in her alcohol. "I see. A pleasure to meet you two."

"It's our pleasure to meet you," Anne returned. "We've heard a lot about you from Luffy."

"You know Luffy?"

"He's our brother." Ace amended when Shanks started to look confused, "Adoptive brother."

"And how is he? I presume he is on his path to piracy still."

"He is," Ace confirmed. Anne added, "Enthusiastically."

"I am glad to hear it. And surprised to learn he has family."

Anne yelled for a refill. Ace gave her a look and shook his head. "And my sister has become an alcoholic. She's always been out of control but"

"but I am apparently getting worse," Anne continued for him. "There is nothing to say about me. We wanted to thank you for taking care of Luffy.'

Shanks lifted a glass half in toast. "Luffy is the one I can see going to the top. Tell me about what happened after I left.."


	11. No Flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's an ordinary day. Dunk one clueless dork and a round of winning at poker. Unless you get interrupted by your annoying older twin brother.

Anne found her way up to the crow's nest as the sun crested the horizon. The sunrise shed red and orange rays upon the pirate's port of Roger's Baytown. The ramshackle collection of buildings was set into the ridge of a shale slope far too steep to climb safely, but perfect for the odd community that had developed there.

The Spade Pirates had been in port for the past two weeks, waiting for Ace's log pose to set itself to the magnetic field of the island. The local residents and shop owners indicated that the process would take three weeks in all.

Sitting up in the sky, Anne picked up the carving knife and partially carved rod of maple wood. The base of it had already been shaped into a crude bird standing on a sphere. She had no clue as to what to do with the finished piece, but found carving a good way to pass the time.

A couple of the boys on the docks took up singing Bink's Sake. Anne smiled and leaned over the edge of the nest. The singers were from a different pirate crew far as she could tell.

"Hey!" a stranger yelled from closer below. Anne leaned further over the side and found the dark haired man waving from the port ramp. "Your name Anne?"

Anne opted for the fast route down: a line tied off just under the bird's nest that ran all the way to the deck. She hit the deck with a thud and walked over to the man. he topped her in height by several inches and had a small goatee on his chin. two black wrapped katanas sat snugly on his belt.

"I'm Anne. What do you need me for?"

"A friend of mine and  your crewmate Andres are starting up a game. He said to go invite you for the next round. You interested then?"

Anne grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, all hell I am. What kind of stakes are on the table?"

"The usual, I bet. Course, I wouldn't be against a game of strip poker with you around," he suggested.

"Only if you're okay with going home in your underpants," Anne retorted.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be any fun if I didn't do that every now and then." His sly smile stretched. Anne's frown twitched as she struggled with an impulse to kick him into the water.

She asked, "Where's this game being held?"

"Black Joker. It's a pub at the end of the dock." He raised a hand to point in the direction just she brought her foot up. He bent in half and stumbled right over the edge of the walkway, making a nice big splash on the way down. Anne knelt at the edge and smiled as he emerged sputtering.

"I'm glad it's close by. You won't be too late if you take the time to dry off."

"Seriously? Bitch."

Anne scowled and pushed his head back under the water. She let go after a few seconds and ran down the walkway in the direction of the pub he'd mentioned.

"Anne," a warehouse worker named Jeff called as she passed, "You joining us again tonight?"

"Not tonight, Jeff. I've got the night shift." She yelled back, still running. Black Joker was noisy for an afternoon weekday. Anne scanned the half full bar room to find Andres sitting with a blonde man wearing sunglasses on his head. Anne wandered through the tables and took the seat facing away from the door.

"Glad you could make it. What happened to Ken?" Andres pushed a few coins into the center pile. His opponent leaned back and considered his hand.

"I kicked him into the water." She leaned on the table. "I assume you meant the guy who called me out here."

"I did. Why'd you kick him in the water anyway?" Andres nodded for the next guy to go.

"He was annoying me. Saying stupid shit about getting me naked in a game of strip poker."

The blonde snorted. "That's definitely Ken. I'd apologize for him, but he'll just keep at it. I fold."

Andres whistled and pulled the winnings to his side of the table. "You need to work on your poker face, dude. Two pair."

"What? Seriously? Damnit to hell." He slammed a hand down on the table. He spotted movement and burst out laughing. "Ken, you look like a drowned cat."

Kenshin slumped into the fourth chair, glaring across the table at Anne. His hair still dripped with salt water, making him blink far too much. "Tell that to the bitch who pushed me off the pier."

"You were being a dick," Anne retorted.

"And that's an excuse to dunk me in the ocean? My hair smells like seaweed."

"Aww. I didn't realize you cared about your hair that much." Anne simpered, "Shall I dunk you in a lake to wash out all that salt up your ass?"

"You little," Kenshin started. His blonde friend clamped a hand onto his mouth.

"Get revenge by beating her in poker, Ken. No need to sully the moment."

Kenshin shoved the hand away. "Fine. Let's do things your way."

Anne chirped, "Great. So, who am I playing?"

Andres gestured to the blonde. "The gentleman is Darren. The rascal is Kenshin Ishura or Ken for short."

"Pleasure, gents. Someone deal before I get an urge to order a drink?"

Andres chuckled and gathered up the cards. Darren won the first two games and then Anne ordered alcohol and won a game. Another fellow joined in after the fourth game which Andres won. Anne and Kenshin managed to clean out that guy's pot after three games of which Anne won two. He left and Darren ordered some food to go along with the drinks Kenshin bought. Looking at Anne's sizeable pile, Kenshin suggested a few rounds of strip poker. Andres lit up a cigarette to hide the sidelong glance he sent Anne. Anne smirked at Kenshin and picked up the deck.

They each managed to lose their shirts. Darren had the bad luck of stripping down to his boxers and plenty of onlookers watched in the hopes that Anne would lose her shorts as well.

Ace walked into the pub, slightly buzzed and zeroed in on the popular poker game. He frowned and shoved through the crowd. "What the hell is going on?"

Laughing at a joke Darren had told, Anne turned in her seat. "Just some friendly strip poker. Wanna join in, dear brother?"

"You're plastered," Ace accused her.

Kenshin spat out his drink. "You're the sister of Fire Fist Ace?"

She grinned and pointed at herself. "The one and only. Not interested in me anymore?"

"I am in no way going that way. Not around him." Kenshin fussed over his hand nervously. Ace scowled at him.

"Pansy," she accused, allowing a smile to take over her face. "Darren it's your turn."

Darren squinted at her. "Fold. you probably have a winning hand again."

"Hardly, two for two." Anne returned and drew two cards. Andres shuffled his hand and drew one card. Kenshin leaned back in his chair, studying his hand and the remaining players.

"Call," Kenshin announced, laying down his hand with a splitting grin. Andres cursed loudly, tossing down his hand. Kenshin said, "Pants off then," with a snap of his fingers. Ace frowned his eyes turning to the snickering crowd.

"Enough of this," Ace growled. "Get lost, the lot of you!" Those closest to him jumped as his hat caught fire. There was some grumbling, but he growled loudly and they scattered.

"Over-protective much?" Kenshin mused.

"I'm not about to sit by while my sister strips down for a perverted crowd. A, we need to talk."

"Over-protective and bossy. How does she put up with you?"

Andres burst out laughing. Anne clamped a hand over her mouth and ducked her head.

"Believe it or not, it's me who puts up with her. A, come on."

Anne picked her shirt up off the table and put it back on. "Yup, I heard you. Andres, will you take my winnings back to the ship?"

"Sure. You remember to be back for your watch shift." While Andres collected their winnings, Anne followed Ace back outside.

"So, dear brother," she whispered in his ear, "What has you all hot and bothered?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "No more drinking for you tonight."

"Except that I had the better hand in that last round. I was having fun."

"You being drunk is the only reason I need to stop a poker game. Do you need to be doused before we talk?"

Anne grinned and did a little spin with arms out wide. "maybe, but then I'd have to take off my clothes to dry off."

He groaned this time. "Fine. Just... Sit down before I toss you in anyways. I'm trying to be serious."

Anne stopped and sat down on a covered barrel, a drunken smirk stuck on her face. "Okay, Ace, what's up?"

"I got a lead on where Whitebeard's going to be next. I'd like to leave tomorrow morning."

"That silly goal of yours again? Don't we have to wait another week before your log pose resets?"

"Not if I have this." He held up an eternal pose. "The guy I was talking to said Whitebeard will be at this island in the next month. So, I'd like to leave tomorrow morning."

"Okay, plausible. I guess you'll need to round up the gang. And wait for me to sober up."

"You sobering won't happen tonight, I'd bet on it.  Don't drown before morning okay?"

"You got it, Ace. No, drowning: in water, in beer, or whatever."

Ace gave her head a little push before walking down the dock. "See you back on the ship."

Anne stayed there a moment, enjoying the ocean breeze. Then she dropped off the barrel and made her way up one of the streets to find a new bar.


	12. Fighting a Fish(man)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following a fishy lead on Whitebeard, Anne takes over before Ace can take the challenger head on. She wants to prove herself, but doesn't have her hopes up.

"He's not here, Ace. We've been waiting ten days already." Anne joined Ace on the balcony of a hotel room they had rented together to stay undercover. She turned and lifted herself up onto the railing. "No white bearded flags have come even close to this island."

Ace held a bottle of rum in his hand as he leaned on the balcony railing. "Another day. We can wait another day."

She glanced at the bottle. "And tell the crew what?"

"Tell them that we're still waiting."

Anne dropped back onto the floor. "No, Ace."

"What?" He turned to face her. Anne reached out and pulled the rum away from him.

"I said no. You've drank half of this bottle since morning."

"Anne, come on. Give that back."

She frowned and hooked his legs. He lost his balance and she helped him over the railing.

"Damnit A!" he yelled after landing.

She leaned over to look down on him. "You can come back when you're sober."

"Look who's talking, miss alcoholic," he retorted.

"I don't drink on the job." She returned back into the hotel room and put the rum back in the fridge.

"Seriously, I think this is the longest you've stayed sober on land."

Anne jumped and whirled. she exhaled, "Freaking A, Harper. Don't sneak up on me."

Harper moved out of the doorway and folded onto the bed. "You really plan on locking him out till he's sober?"

"No, but no need to tell him." Anne laid back on the second bed. "He just needs to see that the crew isn't obsessed with killing Whitebeard like him."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you obsessed with killing Whitebeard?"

"Not one bit. I support him in his goal. I just don't take it any further. Anyway, what the heck are you doing here?"

"Bringing good news. Jimmy spotted one of Whitebeard's fleet headed to the island."

Anne sat up and brushed her hair back. "Where?"

"On the other side. There's a light house a couple of the boys decided to hang out at. Wanna go get your brother now?"

"Let him stew. I'll go check it out on my own."

Harper chuckled. "You can be so mean to your brother sometimes."

"I thought I was mean to him all the time?" Anne got back up off the bed and picked up her staff off the wall. She gave it a bit of a twirl and knocked over the lamp.

"Most of the time, you just do it to give him an outlet. He's different without you. Angry, serious and even spiteful of the smallest things. The others don't see it, but I do."

She snorted. "You're seeing things. Go tell Ace about the sighting in an hour or so. Can you do that?"

He nodded to the lamp. "So you can go fight in his place?" He smirked. "Sure. I'll go keep him company for a bit and stall."

"Thanks a bunch, Harper. I'll see you in a bit then." Anne blew him a kiss and walked out the door.

Anne left the city to find the location Harper had mentioned. Where the beach rose into rocky bluffs and cliffs, there was a light house. Anne climbed the stairs to the top.

Chris cheered, "Eh, look who arrived."

"Come to have a look, Mate?" Jimmy asked while holding out the spyglass in his hand. Anne accepted the spyglass and looked out to sea.

"There he is as expected," she crooned. "A cat out to trap his mouse."

"You know who it is," Chris asked.

"Yea, the guy who planted Ace's lead." Anne handed the spyglass over to Jimmy. "Do you guys believe Ace could have just stumbled on his information?"

Jimmy shrugged, "Could be."

"And the eternal pose?"

"Okay, that's a bit of a stretch. So, you know who's coming and it's not Whitebeard."

Anne nodded. "You got that right. And I am going to go meet him on the beach."

"You gonna tell us who it is?"

She put her fingers to her lips. "Shh, it's a secret."

Chris accused, "You're not going to do something reckless are you?"

"Do I smell drunk?"

"Since when do you need to be drunk to be reckless?" Jimmy asked.

Anne smiled. "You're free to tag along just in case."

"Yea, we're free, but are we safe," Chris asked.

"Now, that," she replied, "is completely up to you." Anne switched her staff between hands and ran down the stairs. Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"I'll go with her. If she is doing something half stupid, someone better have an eye on her."

"No point in staying up here anyways," Chris added. they descended at a slower pace.

Anne reached the beach as the rowboat reached the shore. There was only one person though in that boat and they didn't notice her until she was halfway across the sand.

"You're not the one I was expecting," he said to her.

"No, it's always my brother who gets the attention. You took your sweet time in getting here."

"You were expecting me?"

"Once I sobered up, I knew Ace's lead had been planted, so I asked around and found out who planted it. Yea, I knew you were the one coming here, Jinbei." Anne laid her staff across her shoulders, considering the large fishman. "And I'm going to ask you to leave."

"Why?"

"I don't want Ace to fight you."

Jinbei's eyes widened. "I guess the rumors of you two being the perfect team are just that. You don't want us to fight?"

"Ah, don't misunderstand. We are the perfect team. I just don't really think he's ready for this fight yet. You'd obviously beat him."

Taking a deep breath, Jinbei refused, "In that case, all the more reason for me to stay."

A victorious grin took her over. "I was hoping you'd say that." She released the staff from one hand and slammed it, full on into the sand. dust and grit exploded upward, following the shockwave from her strike. Jinbei effortlessly stepped out of the way.

Plunging into the sand cloud, Anne charge straight at him. Sensing her movement, Jinbei made a pre-emptive strike. The strike hit dust as she jumped at the last moment, staff sliding past his arms and slamming into the defense of his other hand.

Anne flipped in the air, digging her toes into the sand after he sent her flying. A smile remained on her face, unnerving Jinbei just enough for him to remain where he stood. She ducked her head and sprung forward. Sand sprayed with each of her steps as she zigzagged towards him again.

Jinbei struck out where he expected her to end and again hit air. He looked up and saw her in time to side step the blow. Her staff slammed into the turf, throwing up another cloud of sand and dust.

"I do not understand your actions," he said. Anne lashed out, the tip of her staff striking out like a spear. Jinbei slapped away the staff and stepped forward. He struck her directly in the chest.

Anne sprawled this time close to the surf. Jinbei picked Anne up by her hair.

"Explain yourself, girl."

"Ooow, really? The hair?"

"What the hell are you playing at?"

Anne jumped, wrapping one leg over his arm and kicking Jinbei's chin. He dropped her. She swung upside down from his arm and then righted herself back to her feet.

"Evening the playing field," She replied. Anne performed a backflip, picking up her staff and facing Jinbei again.

Standing at the edge of the sand and dirt, Jimmy and Chris watched fearfully.

Jimmy cringed. "Is she stupid, fighting a warlord?"

"Reckless, maybe," Chris argued, "but I've never seen her be stupid."

"Okay, so there's a first for everything. I'm going to go get the captain."

Chris grabbed Jimmy's arm before he could go very far. "Wait. I'm sure Anne's not being stupid."

"Okay, a little too much faith in the captain's sister."

Chris gave Jimmy a look of contempt. "And why shouldn't I have faith in her? Anne has gotten us out of as many scrapes as her brother."

"Okay, she's reliable. She's also a drunk half the time and crazy. Half the scrapes we've had are her fault."

The wind blew sand into their faces along with the salty ocean air. Jimmy stopped to cough up a lung. Anne lunged at Jinbei yet again. She'd not taken any serious blows, but she also knew neither of them was fighting seriously. She took into account each move he made, searching for a crack in his defenses.

"A, you idiot!" Ace yelled as he came into sight from around the coast line. Harper showed a couple dozen feet behind him. "Hiken." The blast of fire surged towards Jinbei. Anne jumped away as did the fishman. Steam curled up from where the fire hit the water.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ace demanded once he got closer to his sister. Without thinking he looked her over for injuries.

"I was thinking, this isn't a fight you had to fight." She looked away from him with a snort. "Well, so much for stalling him, Harper."

Harper touched his jaw. "You and Ace have a lot in common. Hard right hooks being on that list as well as brains."

"Did you think I wouldn't notice Harper stalling? We're twins remember."

"How could I forget?" Anne grumbled quietly. "I can still disguise myself as you."

"Well, that's, wait, what?" Ace did a double take and stared at her.

She flipped up her staff so it knocked his hat off. "You go right, I'll go left. Meet you in the middle." Shooting off in her chosen direction, Anne dragged the tip of her staff in the sand.

Ace put his hat back on, shot a glare at his sister and then ran to the right of Jinbei. Jinbei moved backwards to the water and pulled the tide up and around him. Ace's javelin of fire fizzled out without doing damage. Anne's staff however, whipped through the water wall and slammed into Jinbei's ribs.

With a roar, Jinbei lashed out at Anne. She hit the water hard as her breath rushed out. Ace yelled and shot a column of flame at Jinbei. Jinbei pulled a wall of water up, creating a cloud of steam. Ace took a step back and shot off a spray of fire bullets, using the steam as cover.

In the pause as Ace waited to see results, Jinbei charged out, swing hard and fast. Ace dodged to the side and countered with a kick. Blocked, Ace ducked a backhand and shifted to the side again, getting between Jinbei and the water.

"Don't move," he heard Anne yell. He froze, expecting her to do something crazy like springboard off his back. He started, upon seeing her staff hit Jinbei in the solar plexus, going right through his own chest.

Then she used him to vault upward. Throwing her body up high, she brought down her haki infused leg into the sand. She flipped, grabbing her staff from where it fell on the beach and swept at Jinbei's legs.

Jinbei stomped his foot. The shock wave sent Anne tumbling, though Ace went untouched. He punched, shooting jets of flame through the sand and dirt.

Picking herself up, again, Anne looked over to see Ace slugging it out. The ache of her ribs and scratches from skidding on the sand were nothing new, but she was feeling a limit. Anne snarled, at her own inability, and charged back in. She ducked and spun, aiming to crack Jinbei's defense. Jinbei caught her staff and heaved upward.

Her head spun as she lay there, wondering why she couldn't breathe. Ace pummeled Jinbei, forcing the fishman to back off.

Tired of just watching, Harper and Chris ran forward, careful to keep out of range of their captain and Jinbei. They took hold of the stunned Anne and dragged her back to the treeline. Suspecting some sort of protest, Harper fixed her with a sharp scowl.

He said, "You did what you could. Now leave the rest to your brother. No use in both of you dying today."


	13. Not Dying Today

Dirt and pebbles crunched underfoot as he walked back over to Anne. Harper silently despaired over how worn out she looked. It was almost as if she had never stopped fighting.

"Haven't you gotten any sleep?"

Anne slowly turned her attention from her brother's fight to Harper. "The only reason I'm not fighting is because there'd be no point. I'm studying Jinbei's fighting style."

"They've been at it for five days. Get some sleep already. I'd tell your brother if I could without getting roasted."

"That's Ace for you. He starts fighting and gets completely lost in the adrenaline." Anne touched her cracked ribs. "Are the others getting tired of being here?"

Harper shook his head, but she wasn't looking. She was looking at jinbei again. "No, Jimmy's complaining about the lack of booze, but he's just making noise."

Ace stopped where he stood, hand flickering with a few flames, eyes riveted on his opponent. Jinbei also came to a halt. Both could see the other struggling to dredge up the energy to continue. Sucking in a breath, Ace clenched his fist. One more fireball three feet across shot from his hand at Jinbei. The impact knocked Jinbei backwards. He took two steps back and slid down to one knee. Ace crumpled as well and rolled over onto his back.

Anne appeared in his vision a moment later, standing over Ace with a cocky grin. "Finally worn yourself out?"

Ace laughed, "Like you can say anything to me."

"I can say, I thought it'd end like this." She crouched. "Or at least similarly. It's kinda depressing."

"You're grinning, idiot," Ace jabbed.

"That I am."

"Captain," a yell came from the lighthouse, "It's the Moby Dick!"

Anne's grin fled instantly. Both of them looked out to sea as the giant pirate ship sailed to the coast. "Crap," Anne said.

"Heh, talk about timing," Ace joked.

Anne hissed, "This is no time to be joking. You're in no condition to fight Whitebeard."

"So?"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him to his feet. "So, we're running." Raising her voice she bellowed, "Let's move!"

Ace swayed a little when he pushed away from Anne. "A, running isn't going to be easy."

"I know. But it's easier than fighting."

"What makes you think a fight will happen?"

"Because of you." She jabbed a finger at him. "Whitebeard would be stupid if he didn't know you want his head. Now can we start running?"

"Ummm," he uttered.

"What?"

He grabbed hold of her shoulders and turned her away from the ocean. At the tree line stood Whitebeard and Chris crumpled at his feet.

"Shadow," Anne yelled. Chris twitched in response.

Ace muttered, "What now, great general?"

"Same as before. Run, only in a different direction. You and Harper get the others back to the ship. I'll get Shadow."

"But-"

"And don't you dare pull your I'm the captain crap or I'll kick your ass into the ocean."

"I was going to say that you're unlikely to get Shadow and survive."

"Then we'll have to see. Go already." Anne glanced back to where her staff rested by the rocks and grimaced. She'd have to leave it behind to pull this off. Anne pulled on the black and red scarf wrapped around her hips over her black shorts. The slip knot came undone, leaving three feet of opaque cloth in her hand which she then wrapped around her left hand.

Anne charged straight at Whitebeard. He changed the grip  on his weapon, a giant single-bladed polearm, and swung at her. She jumped, spinning backwards. Sand sprayed from under her feet. Anne raised her arm as he reversed direction and she bobbed under it. A few threads fluttered off the scarf, neatly severed.

She shot forward again, angling this time to Chris. Anne was close now to Whitebeard. Too close. The butt of his weapon cracked her already cracked ribs. Grunting, she rolled to the side and came up on her hands and knees, coughing up spittle and blood.

"I didn't peg you for the stupid twin," Whitebeard said in his deep voice. She looked up at him and put on her cocky grin.

"I didn't actually think it'd work." She tightened her grip on the scarf in her hand. It was no longer simply wrapped around her hand, but tied around the handle of his polearm. She yanked and the weapon spun out in his grip. He grunted and refocused on keeping his hand on the weapon. In that instant, she let go of her scarf and scooped up the unconscious Chris, tossing him over her shoulders and dashing off across the sand as fast as she could manage.

The air shook. Anne took a dive head first into the ground, rolling partially over to save her face. Chris let out a moan.

"Okay, I'll give you credit for that little trick. So, why don't we continue?"

Anne pushed up to one knee and glanced again at her staff. Still, she gauged it to be too far. She closed her eyes to calm her racing mind. Light flared against her eyelids and she felt a surge of heat. Anne opened her eyes to a wall of fire.

"Ace!" She pushed to her feet. "What the hell are you doing?"

Ace yelled back from the other side, "Get Shadow to the ship. I'll take it from here."

"You're an idiot!" she yelled without reply. The flames crackled even higher. Anne scrambled away from the heat, dragging Chris a little before she managed to get him back over her shoulder. She jogged backward across the sand for a few meters, eyeing the wall of flames.

"George!" she barked when she passed the curve of the beach and found the crew gathered there. "Take Shadow."

The large man met her halfway to lift the heavy burden. Anne bent over, hands pressed against her knees.

"You okay, Anne?" Jimmy asked.

"What about the captain?"

Anne ground her teeth. "The captain is being an idiot, and I'm gonna go save his ass."

"Both of you don't need to be idiots," Andres argued.

"I was already being an idiot, I'm just not done yet." Anne straightened and looked at them with a hard scowl. "Since you guys don't seem about to run for it, just stay put and out of sight. And, Harper."

"Yes?"

"I need a hat," she told him as she turned around and jogged back to the battlefield.

The flames still roared with life as she ran back across the sand. She could hear the sound of fighting beyond them and gritted her teeth.

Anne's thoughts focused on a single crazy idea she wasn't too keen on. She took up her staff and hefted it in one hand, testing the weight like she'd done thousands of times in practice. Then she closed her eyes and focused on picturing the world. She focused on finding Whitebeard and Ace in her mind.

Taking a couple steps back on instinct, she brought her arm back and flung the staff like a spear into the sky. Barely taking a moment after, she dashed straight for the flames, bouncing best she could over the wall of fire. She latched one arm around Ace's neck and pulled him away from Whitebeard.

Whitebeard eyed Anne's fiery gaze for a split second before realizing the danger and stepping back enough for the spear to miss and sink itself halfway into the ground and throw up a dust cloud.

"A, what the hell are you doing?"

"Keeping my stupid ass brother alive," Anne replied after clearing her lungs of dust. "I refuse to let you be an idiot on your own."

With a sweep of his weapon, Whitebeard cleared away the dust and moved in again. Feeling out the timing, Anne flattened against the ground to avoid being hit and sprang forward to her staff. Ace dodged back and threw a fistful of fire at Whitebeard's face. Whitebeard knocked away the fire and drove the butt of his polearm at Ace.

His weapon shook as it was tapped away by Anne's staff. She almost lost grip on it from the reverberation that resulted. Even using all her strength, his thrust barely moved more than a couple inches to the side. Ace jumped aside barely in time.

Whitebeard spun the weapon in his hands and brought it across hard and fast. Panicked, Anne raised her staff into a blocking motion. The weight of the blow moved her straight into Ace, who dropped to his knees as he caught her. She lost grip on her staff and it rolled down her legs into the sand.

"You okay?" Ace whispered.

"We are totally dead," she croaked back.

They both watched warily as Whitebeard came closer. He stopped though and stood there a moment, eyeing them back.

"I seem to have come upon two pirates who value family more than anything else. Am I wrong?"

Ace and Anne stared at him. Finally, Anne opened her mouth. "What brother and sister would not die for each other?"

"More sensible ones," Whitebeard said. "But I like it better this way. Join my crew, Portgas D Ace and Anne. Become my son and daughter."

"I'd rather see you dead," Ace grumbled.

Whitebeard laughed. "Oh, I know. And you are welcome to try as many times as you like."

Anne chirped, "You're not going to kill us?"

"Oh, no, I'd rather see your talents grow."

Ace started to say something negative when Anne brought her head back into his nose. He yelped and clapped his hands to his face.

"Ace, do me a favor and don't say anything more. We accept your invitation, Whitebeard."


	14. Sibling Rivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During their first days as crew on the Moby Dick, Ace and Anne have their issues. And Ace remains oblivious.

Three days out from the island, the Moby Dick sailed through calm seas as the night started. Plenty of the crew bunked in for the night, but those assigned to an early watch remained awake and noisy. Growing bored of watching his former crew gamble in the galley, Ace stood and went topside. There he found Anne going through staff drills with a fierce determination. She had plenty of observers, some in awe and some leering in a perverted way. Which made him groan when he saw the reason why. Anne had forgone her usual button up shirt and camisole for a shirt that didn't even cover her belly and shoulders. Then he spotted the yellow haired man sitting atop a barrel with Anne's button up shirt hanging over his shoulder. Ace vaguely remembered the man was named Marco.

"Your sister is quite skilled," Marco said suddenly. Ace scowled at being addressed. "I can understand why she has such a high bounty despite not being a logia user like you."

Ace sighed. "That's a misconception. She only got that bounty because of one stupid run of luck. Awhile back a few of my crew got captured by Marines, and she went around beating the shit out of every marine ship captain in the area until she found the ship they were on. And then we had to trail them to the base they were headed to and she infiltrated the place."

"How on earth did she manage that?"

"We had a captain tied up in our hold. She took his clothes, disguised herself as a guy and found a back door to sneak in through. The boys told me she decided taunt the base commander by writing on his office wall before leaving. Something like, Portgas D Anne was here, or similar. Either way, she pissed off the commander and thus her bounty shot up overnight. It hasn't changed much since then."

Marco snickered. "I remember hearing some story like that. Some pirate embarrassed a base commander. So that was her. Fascinating."

"What's your interest in her anyway?"

"Whitebeard adopted her. What other reason do I need."

"He nearly killed her."

Marco laughed again. "But he didn't did he?" Anne backflipped over to them and pulled her shirt off Marco's shoulder. Staff balanced in the crook of one elbow, she slid her arms into the sleeves.

"Hey, Ace. want a drink?" she asked, ignoring Marco as if he were a part of the barrel he sat on.

"No, I already drank enough for the night."

She shrugged, pulling the staff across her  shoulders. "Suit yourself, I'm going to go chill for a bit."

Ace yelled at her back, "No getting drunk, A!" Anne flapped her hand lazily in a shooing motion.

"She drink a lot then?"

"More than me in any case. Oh, and best not get touchy with her."

"You'll crack my skull if I do?"

Ace snorted. "No, she will. But I'm not against doing it for her." He found his way below deck. Anne wandered into the galley and found herself an open bottle to drain. She joined in a few games of dice as well.

 

"Get him!" The crowd roared at the same time they yelled, "Take her down!" It was early morning on the Moby Dick with half the crew up before breakfast. They stood in a large circle around Ace and Anne as the two completed their ritual wrestling. Anne swatted away Ace's hands as he reached in to grasp at a sleeve. Ace jerked back instantly a panicked look on his face. The crowd oooh as Anne's grapple missed.

"You're learning," she joked.

"Course, if you use the same tricks, I'll learn." He rushed straight in and they clinched at the shoulders. Anne lowered herself to compensate for his greater strength. "So, what trick do you have for this?"

She grunted, "I've been thinking about that."

"And?"

"I came up with this." Anne swept her legs up off the floor. His momentum shot forward as she brought both legs around the right side of his body. In a second, he rolled onto his back and she came down sitting on his chest with one leg hooked around his.

"What the hell was that?" He sputtered after regaining breath.

"A gamble. I had no clue if I'd be fast enough to pull it off."

The cry came from far above. "Marines incoming!" Every head jerked up and out to sea.

"To Starboard," another yelled from much closer. Ace shoved Anne off of his stomach and scrambled to his feet. Anne tumbled forward and rolled herself to her feet a moment later. Sure enough A pair of Marine warships cruised in on a intercepting course.

"Looks like fun," she murmured to her brother and he snickered.

"Hey, new kids," Marco suddenly announced from his place in the rigging. "Time to pay rent!" A yell rose from the pirates on deck. Someone close to Anne slapped her on the back.

"Good luck, you'll need it," the pirate sneered. Anne blindly punched the guy in the jaw.

"Shut your damned Gob, Asshole!" she snapped as the man staggered, hand on the broken bone. "Jimmy, go wake the others. They can play or watch, I don't care. And get my staff."

Hanging back in the crowd, Jimmy gave her a salute and dove down below deck.

"Up in the rigging?" Ace asked quietly when she came to stand next to him.

"Like I love to do. Don't burn yours too quickly though. We got others to worry about."

He elbowed her lightly. "Says the one who's always using molotov cocktails."

Anne giggled. "Not today, Ace. Today I plan to fly." She turned as Jimmy came running back up and tossed the spiral capped staff to her. "See you on the other side." Anne made her way over to the rigging and started climbing upward, passing Marco along the way.

He watched her pass with a confused smile. "Where you headed?"

"You'll see," she answered with a cryptic grin.

Anne pulled herself up above the sails and sat there for a moment, soaking in the salt scented wind and sun as dawn broke. The two marine vessels split to flank the giant pirate ship. Waiting a moment longer, Anne got up and moved to the end of the long beam supporting the main sail and peered down at her brother. He was looking up at her, waiting for her to signal which one she wanted. She did so and paced back to the mast where she knew a line was tied. She untied it and moved back from the mast, wrapping the end around her left hand.

Marco glanced up at Anne. Then he asked, "Is that normal for her?"

His question made those who heard look up, except for Ace. Ace stepped up onto the rail and answered, "Yes. As she puts it, when you've got a crazy invincible brother, you've gotta get creative to win."

"You're hardly invincible," Marco argued.

"No, but sometimes I might as well be since I at the Logia fruit. Before that she was actually the one to always win. Not that it matters anymore. If you're curious, watch her as close as you dare."

Marco craned his neck to get a better view of the girl standing on the beam. The ships were closing in now and they could hear the yells of the commanders barking out orders. suddenly, Anne jumped back. Marco heard several people suck in breath as she fell. Then the line about her hand pulled taut and she  swung out over their heads.

"Holy Shit," someone yelled as she let go of the line, flying through the air.

Anne spun once in the air, coming down right in the bow of the marine warship.

"It's just one girl," a booming voice incited. "Take her out!"

Anne grinned. The staff whirled in her hands, knocking the two closest marines on their feet and neatly knocking away the bullets headed her way in that moment. With a incoherent yell, she waded into the marines, spinning and moving through them as if through water.

Marco burst out laughing after watching her fight for a few seconds.

"What's so funny?" Ace asked, still watching the other warship come in closer.

"The Marines. They're trying so hard to capture her its funny when she slips from one spot to another like that. Like the wind."

Ace finally looked to his sister. "I guess so. I'm usually right next to her, so I don't notice."

"So you're not going to help her?"

"We're twins, not dependent. She's yet to actually need my help in this sort of situation. A can handle the small fry."

Marco chuckled. "There's bound to be more than small fry on there."

"She can handle it, Marco. If you're worried, go help her." Ace crouched, still balancing on the rail. "I hope you weren't underestimating us."

Marco frowned at Ace's indifferent words. He'd gotten the sense of something off about the two for awhile now. They interacted with each other normally, calling each other names and training together. But the way they behaved separately was somehow different. Ace got a little more moody and Anne became withdrawn. It made no sense to Marco and this moment did not clarify it anymore. He turned to look for Ace's previous crew and found them all standing at the other rail, looking ready to jump at a moment's notice. He almost broke out laughing again. Stifling the laugh, Marco leaned back and relaxed.

"You guys are crazy."

"That we are. Oh, angle looks good," his hand bursting aflame, Ace crooned to himself. The flames bloomed larger, curling around his hand. "Hiken!" The jet of fire blew a hole through the warship just under the deck. A moment later, a giant explosion sounded inside the ship and more fire rolled out in a cloud of heat.

"I thought, Anne told you not to burn it?"

"That she did, I decided otherwise."

Marco frowned at Ace.

"What?"

"Do you two not get along or something?"

Ace shook his head. "We argue a lot, but not over anything serious, mostly stupid shit. Where'd you get that idea?"

"Not sure yet. You going to go join the others now?" They looked to the other side where the other fighters had jumped to the Marine ship. Most of the marines were rolling on the floor with broken bones or ringing heads.

"In a moment."

Anne registered her back up and immediately filed it off in her mind. The three in front of her now stood with a greater amount of confidence than any of the others and one had a high ranking insignia on his clothes. She lobbed what looked like a bomb out ahead of her as she charged. Two of them dove off to the side. The officer drew and sheathed his sword in an instant, cutting the dud in half. Anne diverted to one of the two that dove for cover. He was quite surprised by the lack of explosion and took the full blow of her staff to his ribs. She heard several cracks from inside his body. Anne finished him by tossing him over her shoulder towards her fellow pirates.

Bringing her staff across her back, she blocked the sword aimed at her head. The instant she felt the weight lift, she spun and whipped her staff back down in front. The officer managed to deflect her strike and moved into the opening she left.

Anne side stepped and drove the end of her staff into his gut. Then she jumped back from him as he retaliated.

"Is that all you can manage, Portgas D Anne?" The officer taunted her.

"Hardly," she responded with a snap of her staff. Metal rang as their weapons met. Anne whirled both weapon and body, working to create an opening. He was good, this officer, but not as good as Jinbei. She could feel his strength seeping away like water from a badly sealed bucket. Slowly, but surely she would beat him.

Anne parried a cut and moved for a counter when the air expanded with heat. The officer burst into flame and ran screaming over the rail, falling into the ocean. Anne twitched and pivoted, aiming her glare at her brother.

"Watch where you're aiming, Asshat! that could have hit me."

Ace grinned back at her. "But I didn't did I?"

She muttered as she strode past him, "Shut up." His grin faltered as he blinked. Anne jumped back over to the Moby Dick and proceeded below deck without another word.

"Maybe you should go talk to her?" Marco suggested to Ace.

"And have her throw me through the wall? She's angry and I don't deal with her angry, only drunk."

"Is that so? Well, whatever you want." Marco walked away and the crew began returning to their usual duties.


	15. Lost at Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins are separated when Anne is washed overboard in a storm.

The next day Ace got up and went to meet Anne on deck, but she wasn't there. Confused, he called out to a crewman on his way down below. he remembered the man's name was Robert.

"What is it?" Robert asked with a yawn. "I'd like to get some sleep after last night's storm."

"Where's my sister? I know she was on night duty yesterday."

"Oh, Anne?" Robert's face suddenly became far more awake and pale. "Umm... that's..."

Ace scowled and gave Robert a shake. "Spit it out already."

"She went overboard during the storm. There was a rogue wave and no one noticed until long after. That's as much as I know, Ace, swear it. You should go ask Timothy. He was working with her most of the time."

"She what?" Ace's grip on the smaller man loosened and Robert ran away as fast as he could. Ace blinked and realized his hat was on fire again and quickly put it out. He ran back down the stairs to the room Anne shared with the other females on board. He flung the door open and promptly had a hairbrush flung at his face, though it passed right through him harmlessly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here?" Marianne screeched at him. Ace grimaced and looked at the ground.

"Looking for Anne," He replied, hopeful.

"Well she never came back from her duty shift, so try the galley. Heaven knows she spends far too much time there drinking as it is. Now Get. Out." Ace sharply closed the door behind him and went to check the galley. However, a search of the room showed she wasn't there nor in the crow's nest.

Timothy was a lanky guy the same height as Ace with a permanent smirk. He wandered on deck a little later and found Ace slumped on the rail with his arms folded. Timothy sighed and came to stand next to him. he remained quiet, waiting for Ace to speak first.

"It doesn't make sense," Ace muttered at long last. "Anne's been through hundreds of storms and never faltered once."

Timothy quietly answered, "Wasn't what any of us expected. One moment she was next to me, securing the sail, the next she wasn't."

"Did you even pay attention?"

Timothy winced. "We all had our work, Ace. Can't blame me for something I couldn't stop."

"Doesn't make it any better. She's still lost at sea."

"Or dead, mate. Lost or dead."

Ace straightened and growled, "I won't accept that. Never." and stalked away. Timothy shivered despite the warm morning sun.

 

Anne woke up spewing salt water and feeling like she'd been hit by a hammer all over. Her head buzzed just as bad. Coughing up the remaining water in her mouth, Anne rolled over on the sand and stared emptily at the sky for what felt like hours. her mouth became dry again though, so she heaved herself up and scanned her surroundings.

The beach was rocky with giant boulders dotting the coarse sand. The ocean lapped up her legs as if trying to drag her back out to sea. Anne got to her feet and blearily eyed the rocky ground behind her. the land held no features and no true shade but for the crevasses between rocks that she could see from the shore. Gulls flew overhead, arguing over a caught fish.

Hearing a strange noise, Anne climbed over the nearest rock and saw the spar bouncing off the rock and pushed by the waves. It sparked a hazy memory of floating on the ocean. Her head spun and her stomach heaved. Anne stumbled off the rock to retch onto the sand.

"Aw, damn..." she groaned. Cursing under her breath, Anne started walking across the field of boulders. She was walking for a long time before she smelled cooking fish and saw a village set in the rocks. The buildings stood on poles that held them a meter above the highest boulder. Anne grabbed hold of the ladder attached to the closest platform and pulled herself up.

The village was busy enough for the size of it. People were out doing the chores and fixing leaks in roofs and cooking food for the afternoon meal. One woman putting out her laundry to dry squeaked like a mouse when she spotted Anne and ran back inside her house. Seeing no building likely to be a tavern, Anne paused by a house to rest on the bench outside it. A couple children peered at her from around the corner of the house facing her with wide-eyed curiosity.

"You ship-wrecked?" Anne looked up and squinted at the burly man wearing what looked like a ceremonial tunic over his casual clothes. His slurring made it hard to understand him.

"What?"

"Did you ship-wreck?"

"Oh.... yea, I think so," Anne answered in a raspy voice. She coughed to clear her throat. "Can I get some water?"

"Of course," he seemed to mumble, waving to someone nearby to tell them to fetch water. He waited the seconds it took for the villager to return. Anne took the glass of water passed to her and drained it.

"Thank you," she said.

"We do not get visitors often," he explained, "So you will have to excuse me if I cannot offer too much. Mistress Maine has a spare bedroom she lets out when it is needed. If you are interested."

Anne pushed her hair up and away from her eyes. "I could use a map of the island and something to eat."

He smiled. "Follow me. I will introduce you to Mistress Maine." Anne stood back up and stretched her tired shoulders. The hangover had gone after a good deal of walking, but she still felt bruised and sore from her night adrift.

Mistress Maine was a skinny woman who looked in desperate need for more meat on her bones with long yellow hair and thick spectacles. Upon being introduced to Anne, she slapped a hand on the table next to her.

She commanded in the same slurred speech, "Sit down before you fall over girl. You look quite the wreck."

The Burly man, Anne knew now as Hank, nodded and promised, "I will be back with a map of the island for you to look over." Anne took the seat as he left.

"You'll be wanting food I expect after walking from the beach." Mistress Maine clucked her tongue. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be off on the high seas. Hardly proper, that." Even with her disapproval, she paced quickly about the kitchen area in sight, setting up a quick meal. "No life for anyone, much less a girl like you."

"Only life I've got," Anne muttered. Mistress Maine though still heard her from across the room.

"And what, pray tell, made you pick such a dangerous life so young?"

"Family business, I guess. I never felt like anything else." Anne winced, not really feeling up to such a conversation. Mistress Maine came over and put a thick sandwich filled with lettuce and beef slices and a glass of water in front of her.

Anne began eating the sandwich. Mistress Maine eyed her with a strange look. "Well, we all get caught up in family eventually. Consider this a chance to choose otherwise. It'll be hard for your family to find you on the ocean as it is."

Anne avoided answering by taking a second fairly large bite, appearing rude to the scrawny woman, who's frown deepened as she turned to clean up the counter.

Hank returned shortly after with a rolled up map that he set on the table. Anne put aside the remainder of the sandwich and unrolled the stiff paper. the map showed an island several kilometer across with only three cities or towns. A quick question showed her that the little village was on the eastern side of the island mostly surrounded by rocks with one river running past it. Anne considered the terrain depicted and went back to eating the sandwich which did not take that long.

"Where on earth do you think you're going, girl?" Mistress Maine demanded when Anne got up and headed for the door.

Anne looked back over her shoulder. "To a port. I've got family to get back to."

Mistress Maine sniffed. "Did you hear nothing I said? Life at sea is rotten bad. Who knows when it'll gobble you up for real."

Anne laughed. "And you sound like a grumpy old woman who's got no right to lecture me. I'm a pirate and nothing you can say will stop me." The lady's jaw stiffened. Anne snorted and left the house, took one look at the sky and started off to the North.


	16. Not Ready for This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Drama, some Flair. Ace deals with not having his sister around, and Anne goes on a killing spree (not really but it's pretty close).

A week of searching brought the crew of the Moby Dick to the port of Turendiss. Ace eyed the small city with the same baleful look he'd held onto that entire week. He began to wonder if Harper was right about him and Anne balancing each other's moods. The last week had been stressful at best with him having trouble thinking about anything but his sister lost at sea and snapping at just about everyone but Harper. He joined the others in asking around about a young woman with long blonde hair, but got the same response he'd gotten elsewhere. A sorry shake of the head and negative reply. Then some of the crew burst out laughing as he went back to join them. They stood in front of a grocer's, gathered about one man with a newspaper.

"Hey, Ace!" One yelled. "Come on over. This is hilarious." Ace's eyebrows tried to reach each other as he scowled. He expected it would be another bad attempt to cheer him up.

"Look at this. Just a few days ago, there was someone here impersonating you." The paper got shoved into his hands. Ace stared at the picture of himself standing on a lifeless lump of a marine. "Says there, you came in and laid waste to the Marines who had stopped to resupply. Looks just like you don't it?"

Sure enough it did, though the person in the picture was shorter than him by a little and copied his fashion from before the Grand Line. Everything was the same from the freckles, to the crazy grin and laid back stance. Ace heard something crunch and realized he'd crumpled the paper in his fists.

"Woah, no need to freak. Just a guy getting off on your reputation." The words flipped a switch in Ace's head.

"Damnitall, that's Anne," he cursed. Ace looked for the nearest worker and rushed over, thrusting the torn paper at the shop keeper. "This guy, where did he go?"

The man squinted at the picture, looked at Ace and then back at the paper. "Well, isn't that you?"

"No it isn't. Tell me, do you know anything about the person in the paper?"

He leaned on his broom with a weary look. "Dunno much. Young fellow just showed up out of nowhere the same day as those Marines and knocked them all on their butts like it was nothing. Then stole their ship, forced the younger ones to steer it for him at gun point. Course that's the best of all the gossip on it that I've heard."

"Do you know where he went?"

he shook his head. "No sir, but you'll probably hear of it soon enough. It was a Marine ship he stole afterall. They won't be liking that one bit."

Leaving the paper to fall to the ground, Ace stalked down the paved streets.

Anne looked in the mirror for what felt like the thousandth time. She would never get used to seeing her brother's face every morning and night. For one, the black wig itched and it took a lot of concentration not to mess with it in public.

"Completely normal. I used to do this all the time," she muttered to herself. "But then we even sounded identical and no one knew us that well. Oh, hell to it." Readjusting the wig one last time, she strode out the door of her hotel room. The innkeeper bowed nervously to her as she left, his counter still showing the scorch marks for her "display".

even without the devil fruit, she'd learned how to fake it with a little alcohol and sleight of hand. It was enough to convince the normal people of who she was. And thus keep them quiet. She walked out and grimaced at the muddy street. The roads always seemed to have some amount of mud on them and even more after it rained.

Anne filched a newspaper from the stand while the seller was busy talking and kept on walking, smoothly unfolding the newsprint. There wasn't much new in it and nothing that really interested her. Nothing that gave her hints of where to throw up the signal flare for Ace. She had ideas for how to do it. Raid a Marine base, make another pirate crew and do something stupid with them, burn the entire town. Really, anything that would make Ace put his head through the wall at how crazy they were. The real question was whether or not she could pull it off.

"Did you hear, the New York Pirates found a Devil Fruit and plan on selling it," a dock worker gossiped to his friends as Anne walked past. She came to a sudden stop and looked back at them.

"Wasn't that going around yesterday?" One of his mates asked.

"Yea, it was. C'mon Dave, it has to be fake. No one on this ocean sells a Devil Fruit."

Anne strode over to them and put a strong grip on Dave's shoulder. "Hey, mind telling me more about that?"

He jumped and squeaked. "Uhh, not much to tell."

"Just tell me where I can find these pirates."

"I heard they'd be at Hawker's Bay. It's on an island famous for being a part of the black market. You can sell anything you want there."

"Thank you," Anne told him, moving to continue down the street. "Hawker's Bay, huh?" It was an idea at least. Depending on what the devil fruit was, it might give her a decent power boost. Now she just had to get a ship to take her to Hawker's Bay.

Anne scanned the boats and ships at the dock and lit upon a merchant's schooner looking about as ready to leave as possible. She climbed aboard the vessel and bellowed for the captain. The crew above deck stared at her. She stood there, glowering at them till a man peered out of the hatch from what she guessed to be the cargo hold.

"Who's yelling for the captain?" he demanded.

"I am," she snarled. "Are you him?"

He climbed the rest of the way up and pulled on his fancy sailor jacket. "That I be. what business do you have with me?"

"I need you to take me to Hawker's Bay. As soon as possible."

"I'm a merchant, not a cheat. Why would I go there for you?"

Anne pulled her stolen gun on him and cocked the hammer. "Because if you don't, I'll shoot you and burn down this ship with everyone on it. I'm Portgas D Ace and far from a good mood."

Surprisingly, the merchant captain kept his cool. "Threats aside, the earliest I can sail will be tomorrow morning. I still have cargo to haul on."

"This afternoon and no later," Anne countered.

"that's hardly a lot of time," he argued.

"Any more time and you might decide to call the Marines on me. I don't think so. You agree to leave this afternoon or your ship goes up in smoke and I find someone else more willing."

the man grimaced. "Very well. I will make preparations to leave with the tide this afternoon."

"Good, I'm glad we could come to an agreement." Anne uncocked the pistol and stashed it back into her belt.

She returned later that day with her bag that was mostly full of the money she stole from the Marines and a couple knives besides a spare shirt. the captain showed her to the cabin she would be using and shortly after they set sail.

 

"Ace, isn't it about time you quit drinking?" Marco asked. he pulled the half empty bottle of sake away from the drunken man. "You're gonna turn into you sister like that."

"Shut up Marco. At least it reminds me of her." he reached for the bottle, but Marco pulled it further from his grasp and sat down, taking a swig for himself.

"Well then. It might be healthier to work on your staff work."

Ace scowled at the commander. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm saying, that we may not give up looking, but you should stop trying to find her in the drink. Makes me wonder why she was always drinking. She was drunk in that storm, you know?"

Ace's scowl lightened. "I didn't know. She was drinking?"

"Yea, drinking and gambling with the men right before the storm hit. Did you know why she drank?"

"Not really. At first I thought it was because of Sabo, an old friend of ours, but that idea went out the window a long time ago. She really started drinking more after we got to the Grand Line."

"Ah, so-"

"Marco, look at the paper!" Timothy burst into the galley, interrupting Marco's thought with an excited grin waving that day's newspaper. He threw it down on the table.

The headline read, "Pirate destroys Naval Base" and as Ace read the article that had only one aerial photo of the ruined fortress, his jaw dropped.

"She did what?"

"She utterly razed the base," Marco whispered. "How the hell did she do that?"

"That's not all," Timothy broke in again, waving a bounty poster with a new picture of Anne on it looking rather blurry. "They raised her bounty."

"That idiot!" Ace yelled, having completely ignored Timothy. "What the hell is she doing, challenging the world government to come and get her?"

"I imagine enjoying her new found power," Marco said.

"Power? What new power? What makes you..." His word trailed off as he saw the title Wind Devil next to her name. "Crap, that can't be good."

"Either way, we know where she is now. I'll go tell the captain." Marco stood and eyed Ace. "You're not going to start drinking again are you?"

"Just go, Marco. I'll stop drinking for now."

"You better. Anne would probably throw you overboard the way you are now."

Ace stared at the sake bottle as if it were his most hated enemy.

 

They sailed into sight of the ruined base a week later and several people whistled at the sight of the fortress reduced to a pile of rocks. Ace leaned on the rail with a determined scowl, far more interested in finding his sister than in admiring her work.

"What the hell could do that?" Someone asked in a hushed voice near him.

"Who knows, but we've got marines coming around the coast to port!" someone else cried. heads turned and more than one tensed for a fight. As they watched, however, the ship went to pieces. First the Main mast and foresail just toppled over into the ocean. Then the ship shattered into over a dozen pieces, sinking just as fast.

"Will you look at her go!" A voice called from above them. Ace turned slowly to look up at Anne relaxing in the curve of the main sail. She was watching the warship vanish under the waves. "That was fun, what's next?"

"Are you bloody nuts, A?" Ace blurted, his pent up annoyance coming out all at once. "What the hell are you thinking, making a challenge to the World Government?"

"Oh, hey, Ace. Didn't see you there." She pushed off the sail, moving through the air as if through water and came to float in the air upside down in front of him. "I hope you haven't been pining too badly."

"You are a bloody damned idiot. You're just as bad as Luffy this time. Wait, are you floating?"

Her grin widened. "I'm glad you noticed."

"What, what happened to you?"

She righted herself in the air and crossed her legs as if sitting there. "I got swept overboard, Ace. You know that."

"I meant after that. You disguised yourself as me and next thing I know, you've gone and eaten a devil fruit."

"Now, that is a funny story. I'll tell it to you later."

They paused to look at Marco, walking towards them. "Welcome aboard, Anne. We're glad to see you in one piece. Ace was a mess without you."

"No I wasn't," Ace muttered, his face going red. Anne giggled.

"I love you too, Brother," she crooned, giving Ace an unwanted hug. He swore violently and swung a fist at her head. She didn't even bother dodging and his hand went right through her. She laughed.

He frowned. "You're laughing."

She stopped. "What?"

"I said, you're laughing."

"So? Is that a problem?"

"No, it's something you haven't done in ages. Not since..." He let his sentence drop. "Oh, quit grinning like an idiot at me!" Spinning on the spot, Ace retreated below deck. Anne solidified herself, dropping neatly to the deck and followed him.

"I've laughed, Ace. What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being happy for once and stop trying to shoulder my anger too. A month of you being gone made me think and it made me realize how much I've been ignoring. Ever since we've been kids you always do your best to make it easier for me, so that I don't have to do the things you do."

"I didn't want to see you die," Anne said after a long awkward silence. Luckily there was no one around to hear them talk like this. "After Sabo, and after I became a girl for real, I didn't want to be left behind and I didn't want you to die. It's just.... you kept getting stronger and I only got smarter."

"You think I want to see you die? God, we're both idiots. How do you think I felt whenever you got yourself in a mess?"

"I figured you got pissed off. I mean you certainly acted that way. Look, I'm stronger now, so you don't have to worry about me."

His eyebrows dipped. "Worry about you? You may have a devil fruit, but you still do damned crazy things just because you think you can. of course I'm still going to worry about you. Now, stop that grinning, A!"

"Oh, I'll stop grinning when I'm dead."

"Don't you ever say that," Ace said with a look of horror. "You sound like our father."

Anne winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I know," he said apologetically. "I'm just glad you're back." He smiled and headed off to his bunk. Anne drifted back above deck to talk to the others.


	17. Quiet Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little time has passed and things have gone a bit dull for Anne's tastes.

Anne stretched, her back still aching from the recent tattoo she'd added. After Ace announced he'd changed his mind about killing Whitebeard, she'd been mildly amused. When he said he was going to tattoo the mark on his back, she decided to do the same at the small of her back. And it itched.

"Going out to practice?"

She turned  down to see Ace hanging off the top of the rigging. He no longer wore his usual collared shirt, though his choice of black shorts was the same.

"Only way for me to learn and I can't do it close to the ship or land without destroying something."

"At least take Someone who can swim out with you," he said, an old redundant and repetitive argument. she didn't respond and he didn't expect one. With how she played, having someone nearby would not help.

"I will be back in a bit," she assured him. "Don't burn the ship," she added and he chorused her. They grinned at each other. Anne jumped off the end of the spar, doing a light spin in the air before shooting off to the open sea to starboard. In the instant she took on speed, she became invisible, a part of the air.

Anne flew over the water for perhaps a half hour before coming to a halt with nothing moving in sight. She floated in the air and reached out with her hands, those becoming blurry as the wind began to howl.

Not far off a single rowboat floated without direction. In it lay a single human form, half unconscious with a bag stowed in the bow. Lanky with soft black hair, he twitched and let out a moan as the waves began to rock the boat. When they threatened to tip him over, he groggily woke and flailed for the oars. Turning to face the waves, his eyes widened at the chaotic storm that had woken him.

The waves twisted and surged against each other in constantly changing patterns under a clear sky with barely a cloud. And there at the center of it, he was struck by the figure of a woman standing in the air unmoving only a ship's height above the tossing water. Fixated on the woman, he failed to notice the six foot tall wave rushing towards his boat. With a yell he fought to stay afloat as the water rode over him.

Anne heard the yell and let go of the air with surprise. She's been certain she was alone. Anne drifted as quickly as she could without losing shape. It was slow enough for the waves to calm by the time she reached the stranded sailor.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

He stared at her, taking in the wind spread blonde hair tucked back behind a twisted red and black scarf. She wore a recently bought pair of black shorts with a silver fringe lining the hem above her knees and a partially buttoned up shirt over a white camisole.

"Are you an angel, here to take me to paradise?" he asked breathless and hoarse. She frowned before she realized he meant no harm.

"Far from an angel, but a devil, and not here to take you anywhere. What are you doing floating about in a rowboat of all the things?"

He coughed on his next words. "The ship I was on got taken by Marines. You wouldn't happen to have food or water would you, pretty devil? I've had neither in days."

Anne stepped into the rowboat and sat down facing him. "You might want to hold on." Confused, he nearly fell over when the rowboat jolted forward. He quickly steadied himself and failed at not looking embarrassed though he did try.

"So," she asked, "What's your name?"

He twisted to look over his shoulder. "Where are you taking me?"

"To my friends. I'm a pirate."

He jumped a little. A little nervous, he queried. "Which crew?"

"Whitebeard. Don't worry, I won't let them bite."

He brightened a little. "Oh, well, if you're with him, that's okay."

"My name's Anne by the way."

"Oh, I'm Michi."

Anne graced him with a smile that made him lose all train of thought. "Michi. I've never heard such a name before. Where are you from?"

He smiled back at her. "An island in the South Sea. At least that's where I was born. My father was a pirate and my mother sailed with him. That is until they had bad luck and died. But a pretty girl like you doesn't want to hear about that." He swayed a bit.

"You okay?"

"Dizzy. Dehydrated." He shook his head violently. "Trying to stay awake."

Anne bit her lip. Considering the distance, she told him. "Lay down."

"What?"

She stood up. "I'm going to pick up the speed, so lay down in the boat." He still looked rather puzzled by the request, but after the first burst of speed, he decided it best to follow her direction. Anne flipped out of the boat, floating just behind it and started pushing.

He'd passed out again by the time she caught up with the Moby Dick. There was a yell from the crow's nest as she sped up to the side of the larger ship and crafted the wind to bring them to a stop aside it.

A crewman, York, leaned over the side. "What's with the rowboat?"

Anne awkwardly gathered up the passed out pirate. The wind twisted about her into a cyclone, lifting her up to the deck. "Stranded pirate. He passed out while I was bringing him over." She laid him out on the deck as carefully as she could.

"Hey, isn't that guy Michi Ishura? He's one of Halestorm's crew."

"Doctor, over here!"

Anne moved back as they gathered, moving Michi onto a stretcher to carry below deck.

"Nice save." Marco clapped her on the shoulder. "Halestorm will be ecstatic to have her sniper back alive."

She folded her arms. "He's a sniper?"

"Yea, just like Yasopp of the Red Hair Pirates. Rumor is that Michi can see extraordinary distances."

"Well, he could have a devil fruit," Anne suggested with a shrug.  "But I don't know if Halestorm can get him back. He said the crew was taken by Marines."

Marco winced. "That's harsh. I hadn't heard about that."

"Who knows."

"Hey, Anne," A voice called from below deck, "he's asking for you!"

"Popular already," Marco joked.

Anne scowled at him and went below to the infirmary. Michi was awake and sitting up on the cot with a glass of water in his hands.

"You wanted to talk?"

Michi took a gulp from his glass. "I wanted to say thanks for saving me. I'd have died if you hadn't been there."

"You're welcome, but I didn't do anything amazing. Just get better. I'm sure we can drop you off at the next island."

"No, a life is owed. As a pirate and a person, my life belongs to you."

She sighed. "Michi, you owe me nothing. Doctor, he's all yours." She walked out of the room with a little wave.


	18. Leave Me Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new guest has a thing for Anne, and she does not appreciate it.

The wood creaked with the wind that shoved against it and the sails taut to bursting. That was the usual way of things now when Anne went up to the crow's nest. Her form blurred at the edges, she fussed with a knife over a block of wood beginning to look like a bird.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

"What do you want, Ace?" The speaker had climbed up on the side behind her and she kept skimming slivers from the wood without pause. The speaker snorted.

"I'm not your brother, if you'd bother to look." She stabbed her knife into the side of the nest and turned around.

"The sniper," she growled.

Michi grinned at her scowl. He looked better after a couple days of rest and food, though his black hair seemed more unkempt than before. "Yea, that's me." He climbed over the wall and crouched next to her. "What's that you're carving?"

"Raven. What do you want?"

"To talk. I can't do that? Talk to you? Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?"

Her scowl twisted with confusion. "What are you, no just, no. Go away."

His grin widened somehow. "Make me." In that moment, she was no longer confused, only angry as one hand blurred to invisibility. With a yelp, he went flying out of the crow's nest landing loudly, if unharmed on the deck below. Anne heard loud and snarky laughter and grumbled about guys having not enough to do, setting a tiny little tornado down to chase the pirates about the deck for a little bit.

Turning back to the half formed bird in her hand, she found her interest in completing the thing had vanished with Michi’s interruption. Gripping the block in one hand, she twisted and launched it as far as she could over the side. It sailed off into the blue of the ocean, hitting the water long after she’d already settle back.

"Did you just throw something?" It was really Ace this time, climbing up to the nest.

"It was looking at me funny," She said with a frown. "Nothing else to look at out there anyway, just a big flat pool of blue."

"Well there's you throwing people out of the nest to watch."

"Oh, that."

"You do realize it is best to leave Michi alive and in one piece?" Ace pulled himself up onto the edge. "I don't want Halestorm attacking us because you mistreated their crew."

She growled, "He was asking for it. And why do we even care what Halestorm thinks? Not like they'd actually attack us over one pathetic human."

"I'd attack them over you," Ace told her.

"That is not the same thing," She argued.

"Just promise me you won't maim him for looking at you funny. Or toss him overboard. Or set his ass on fire. In fact, please try to be nice. Try really, really, really, really, really-"

"Fine!" Anne yelled. "Even if he won't leave me alone when I want to be alone, I will not do my best to kill, maim, or even scratch him. Promise."

He smirked. "Thanks."

"Shove it." She yanked her knife out of the wood and shifted so her back was to him. "He's annoying is all."

"Can't be that bad. I haven't heard any complaints from the others."

"He's annoying to me, okay? Go away, already. I am having far too many visitors for spending some quiet time ALONE."

Ace didn't leave, but he did go silent, frowning down at her. The air swirled as it always did, teasing at his partially corporeal body.

"Have you been drinking?" Ace asked.

"No."

"You sure?"

Anne floated to her feet with a wordless yell. "What the hell do you want, Ace?"

Ace met her gaze without a flutter. "To know why you are so annoyed with one of the most quiet and friendly guests we have ever had aboard."

"Are you kidding. He is annoying! All I did was pull him out of the water and that makes him think I give a damn about him. He does not owe me squat, nor do I want to be buddies with him."

"As I recall, you call Yuri annoying, but I never see you toss him over the rail for it."

"Yuri can't swim, Dumbass. Plus, he's only annoying when drunk."

"Doesn't explain anything. All he's doing is talking to you, right?"

Though the air was already in a movement, drifting in a spiral from Anne, when she clenched her hands, it was like the difference between a tough wind and a tornado. Ace braced himself on the mast. "Just talking? He's been bothering me. Saying weird shit and calling me strange things. If I say he's annoying, then he's annoying."

"I hear ya, A, no need to get riled up." Ace waited for the air to settle. "Was what he was saying anything like the bounty hunters we ran into in San Domingo?"

"Yes," Anne exclaimed. "Just the same weird shit. But why would you even think of them. That was ages ago."

"Why wouldn't I remember? That was one of the times you nearly took my head off after a fight."

"Oh, right."

"I'll tell him to lay off a bit. Though I'm not sure how well he'll listen." He turned and dropped his feet onto the rigging. "So, no more tossing him around?"

"So long as he leaves me alone."

Satisfied, Ace descended down to the deck. One of the officers stepped up, looking a little worried.

"Everything alright up there?" Ryan asked as naturally as he could manage. Ace slapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Anne just wants some 'me' time. Where'd that guy, Mitch, go?"

"His name is Michi, Ace."

"Yes, Michi. Where is he?"

Ryan pointed. "Galley last I saw. They like to swap stories."

"Thanks. And really, Anne hasn't set a ship on fire since we joined Whitebeard. You should try and relax."

Ryan let out a nervous laugh. "And here I thought I was covering it up fairly well. Sorry, its just she's been on edge lately and she could easily sink us without meaning to."

"She's emotional, not stupid. She won't sink the ship with everyone else still on it." Ace stepped around Ryan, not bothering to hide his frown. Ryan's train of thought wasn't uncommon among some of the crew. When she was just a regular gal who fought with a bo-staff, they didn't care about her emotional spats, but now it was like she was a demon any time she was a touch irritable.

There was a gathering in the galley. A little over a dozen of the crew in a clump, laughing over rum. At the center of it all was Michi, Teach, and Goran, a large man with a stockpile of crazy stories under his belt.

"-and then he jumped out of the bush and yells, 'You'll never catch me alive,' at the top of his voice before dashing right out of there. No one heard from him for three days after that. We all thought he'd gone and jumped into the ocean and was swept away until he showed up as cool as can be and didn't even realize it had been three days." Michi leaned forward. "I always thought the old dude needed less rum with his breakfast."

"I second that thought," Teach bellowed. "Man, that was a good one. And you saw it in person?"

"Does this look like a lying face," Michi asked with a grin.

"I don't know," Ace answered, cutting through the circle. "A liar can be anyone."

"Ace!" Teach exclaimed. "Take a seat. You should tell a story next. I bet you have a lot of good ones with how crazy your sister is."

Ace shook his head. "While, yes, I have a lot of crazy stories about her, I'm not hear to tell them. I just need to borrow Michi for a moment."

Goran said, "Do you have to. This guy is on a roll."

"Yes, I have to. And it will only take a minute. You'll have him back in no time."

Michi tossed back the remainder of his drink and stood up. "It's alright, Blackbeard. I've got a question I want to ask of Ace anyways. Back in a jiffy."

They walked away from the group and stopped near the door. Ace asked, "You had something you wanted to ask me?"

Michi nodded. "Figure you're the one to ask, being Anne's twin brother and all. See, I like her. She's cute and speaks her mind. Not a lot of girls like her on the seas, not the kind you want to keep anyways. But everytime I try and compliment her, she just gets upset with me. So, what am I doing wrong? Or am I not bulky enough to be her type? I'm always told I'm too skinny to be attractive. Or is this just her way of flirting? What is so funny?"

Ace leaned on the wall, doing a terrible job of not laughing his head off. He drew in a breath and started laughing all over again. Michi's eyebrows dipped, ever so confused. Ace held up a hand, once more trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry," He gasped, stuffing down another fit of giggles. "Sorry, that was just so unexpected."

"Are you okay?"

Ace nodded, taking a couple deep breaths. He faced Michi and gripped the other by both shoulders. "Look, she's upset because it literally is annoying to her. Have you ever heard of the Domingo Bounty Hunters?"

Michi shook his head.

"There's a small town called San Domingo in the East Blue. A crew of bounty hunters used to work out of that town, thus the name. Now I say used to because Anne got annoyed with two of their members for catcalling at her. One of my more amazing stories I could tell. She doesn't get the whole compliments thing, and she isn't interested in romance."

Michi snorted in disbelief. "As if there isn't a girl on the planet that doesn't secretly hope to find a man to marry. Seriously, Ace, what can I do to make her see how I feel?"

Ace sighed. "Honestly, the only advice I can give you is to give her a wide berth. She has never given any guy a second glance, and I don't think she ever will. That's why I wanted to talk to you anyway. Keep acting the way you are, and she will stop being so nice. I'd rather you stay alive in case we can get you back to your crew."

"Are you telling me she'd kill me for flirting?"

"If she actually thought of it as flirting, then yes. But she doesn't. I doubt she even knows what flirting looks like. She just thinks you say weird shit and get in the way."

He looked crestfallen for the briefest of moments, confusing Ace when his lazy grin returned. Michi took one step back and flashed a thumbs up. "Thanks for the advice, Ace. I will keep it in mind."

Even with his assurances, Ace had a dreadful feeling that nothing good would come of it.


	19. For the Love Of-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a storm brewing, both figuratively and literally. The only question is how will the twins survive the coming changes.

"Want me to deal you in?" Thatch asked as he dealt cards to the three others at the table. Blackbeard grunted as his checked his cards. Ace drew up a chair and set down a mug of ale.

"Not today, I just want to be somewhere away from A right now."

"Dude," Rikeal said, "I hear ya on that." A recent recruit, Rikeal's opinion of Anne extended to her explosive personality and tendency to out drink half the guys. "What the heck were you even fighting about?" He glanced at his cards shoved a few bills into the pot.

"Nothing important," Ace muttered into his cup. The guys went around, betting the first round.

"So," Thatch guessed, "not about your potential promotion?"

"No," Ace shook his head, partially at the guess, but also at the glimpse he had of Blackbeard's hand. "It was totally stupid."

Blackbeard jeered, "Does she want to cut her hair? Now that would be stupid."

Ace paused as cards were dealt out to the third player, a scrappy guy with an untidy beard whose name escaped Ace right then. He took another drink from his cup.

"It was about our little brother, Luffy. He's gonna get here one day and I want to invite him to join under Whitebeard."

"Sounds great," Thatch said. "Why's that a problem?"

"It's not. A just thinks Luffy doesn't have the temperment. Sure he's energetic, but he's a good sport and loyal."

"Luffy's your younger brother, right?" Thatch dealt out cards to Blackbeard and Blackbeard added to his bet.

"By four years. Anyway, it was a stupid argument. Nothing to tell."

Rikeal scratched at his chin. "If you ask me, she doesn't really have a say in the matter. If you want to invite him, then that's your choice. I bet you've got at least a couple more years before you even hear from him if that. Not everyone gets a bounty or makes the news afterall."

"You might be right," Ace agreed, cupping his hands behind his head. "I don't even know if Luffy has a crew or a ship yet. Oh, I heard you were also nominated for that promotion, Teach. How do you feel about being captain of your own ship again?"

Blackbeard puffed out his chest. "Can't wait. No offense to you of course, but I'm a shoo in for Lieutenant. More so than some of the other Lieutenants."

"Good luck then. We'll all need it in the end."

Thatch nodded, the same patient smile he always had. "You more than any of us. Has Anne said how she feels about it?"

"No, but I can't imagine it being a problem. She was just fine working under me before."

"Hey, guys," Michi greeted upon reaching the table. He leaned over Rikeal, taking a gander at his cards. "How are things going?"

"Just talking about who's going to get that promotion." The third scooted his chair so Michi could join them.

Bets went in and then Rikeal scowled. "I fold." He set his cards face down in front of him and took a drink from his mug. "I thought it would be interesting to see you and Anne as Co-captains. You two work together well enough."

Ace shook his head. "Never. Just, yes, we work well, but she's too wild. Like a ricocheting bullet you can't predict. Half the time, the messes we got into were her fault. I've always had to be the cool headed twin."

"Set," the third player announced, laying down his hand. Blackbeard grunted and threw his cards into the betting pile.

"I'm done. This is a waste of time." He shoved back and levered up to his feet. In his wake, the scrappy fellow sneered.

"My win then. Michi, want to play a hand?"

Before Michi had the chance to agree, scooting closer, boots stomped down the ladder. They turned to look as Marco ducked his head into the galley.

"Storm brewing," He barked. Every single person except for a couple were instantly on their feet. Ace took one last swig of ale and followed Michi up top.

The clear sky swiftly turned to dark clouds and thunderclaps. Rain pounded on the crew as they scurried up the rigging to secure the sails. Ace hauled a line across the deck, handing it off to Thatch so he could re tie one of the cannons that had come loose. It was hard work, making sure the knots were secure while his hands became slick with rain water.

He turned to move back across the deck and nearly collided with Marco. Marco gripped his shoulders, speaking loudly over the sound of the storm.

"We spotted land to port just before the storm. I need you to get in the rigging to help navigate us in that direction. Anne's at the helm."

"Any idea what island?"

"Tumero. Summery, warm, known for thunderstorms. Get up there and be careful." Marco ducked his head and moved on. Ace squinted up towards the helm. He could just barely see her standing at the wheel through the rain and wind that made her little more than a blur.

"Ace, get your ass moving!"

The journey of five miles it took for them to reach land felt like a lifetime. Ace felt cold to his bones, tired and even grumpier than when the storm began. The storm continued to rage even as Marco bellowed for the anchor to be dropped before they ran aground.

"Bring us around to Starboard!" Marco ordered. Ace tightened up the line in front of him and inched carefully along the crossbar. The ship slowly came around and the anchor pulled them up short. The ship leaned. Ace grabbed the rigging to keep his balance. The creaking of wood only subsided into the noise of the waves and the wind pressing on the hull and masts. Climbing down, Ace made his way to the helm where Anne was wiping water off her face.

"Weren't you in logia form that whole time?" Ace asked, trying not to look out of breath.

"Hell, no." She didn't even look at him, only flicked off water droplets and put her hands back on the wheel. "Just bursts every few minutes to keep us on track."

"Are you doing okay?"

"Fine. Aren't you going to go back to drinking?"

Ace stifled a sigh and a couple curses he really wanted to spit out. "You know what? I think I'll go volunteer for the first shift instead. Because I am not a drunkard."

"Sounds good."

"I'll do that then."

"Good."

"Good."

Feeling like he was talking to a brick wall, not a person made of air, Ace shoved off the rail and made his way over to Marco.

 

Anne did her best to push Ace out of her mind. The storm was far from over and she had to focus on keeping the ship upright. The winds raging around them felt like bared swords cutting into her skin.

What had seemed like an innocent disagreement at the time had turned into a pit in her stomach. Ace had known when they set out that they would be fighting Luffy for the prize. Yet, here he was acting like Luffy would just give up on that goal to be with his brother.

The ship tilted sharply. Anne ground her teeth and pushed at the air to move in a loop away from them until they righted.  A line came loose, causing the furled sail to flap wildly. Pirates rushed to tie it back down.

After a few minutes, Marco made his way up to her, quietly taking her place with his hands on the helm.

"Go take a break," He said, speaking in her ear to be heard properly. "Get something to eat."

"Yes, Sir." Anne moved stiffly down the deck.

"Anne!"

Anyone else wouldn't have heard him over the wind and rain. Anne turned around, letting the rain pass through her non-material body.

"Yes?"

"Try to not kill your brother?"

The glimmer of a smile that appeared, only lasted less than a second. "Whatever," she responded and dropped down the hatch.

She was not the only one to go on break. Anne stepped aside for her crewmates so she could go to a quiet corner. Though she would never get that quiet moment.

Making his way over, Michi paused a meter away and linked his hands behind his back. "May I join you?"

"So long as you keep your tongue in check," Anne muttered.

He took the chair next to her. "I wanted to see how you were doing. That was a long time to be using your powers."

"I am wind, Michi. It is only as exhausting as doing navigational equations for hours at a time."

"My point stands. Do you need a drink?"

"I need you to ask less questions."

"Fewer questions."

"What?"

"The proper grammer is fewer questions."

Anne glared at him. "Michi. I grew up on a trash heap. Grammer was not exactly at the top of my lessons."

"Sorry."

"And no, I'm not drinking today. Not in the mood one bit."

"Talk to me. Or you can pretend I'm a brick wall and talk at me."

"Ace is just being, well, an airhead." Anne rubbed her eyes. "First he wants me to support him in becoming Lieutenant on his own, and then he wants to bring Luffy into the crew, and he thinks it'll work out."

"Sounds annoying."

"Ever dealt with someone that thinks they know Everything?"

"Yeah."

"It's like talking to a wall- wait, you have?"

Michi leaned on the table. "You and Ace aren't the only twins. I just don't get along with mine. He and I argued about everything from tactics to ethics to how to eat a bowl of pasta."

"Sounds tough. What happened to him?"

"I signed on with a pirate crew to spite him and he's been trying to catch me ever since. I hear he's a decent bounty hunter."

"A bounty hunter. Have I run into him?"

Michi shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Last time I saw him was a little port tavern where we had a guns and katanas duel. Roughly a year ago now, Halestorm stopped to fuel up and buy stores. A bunch of us went for a drink and he should up. We don't really chat much anymore. He says Hi, I ask him to sit, he pulls his sword, my friends get ready for a fight and I tell them to stand down. It has a tendency to repeat."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just avoid him?"

"He's family," Michi said. "At least it means I get to see him."

"No, I get it. Family is family. Even when they're acting like self-absorbed idiots."

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Ignore him?"

"Not exactly an easy thing to do when you are stuck on the same ship as him."

"A little easier with us being anchored off shore." Anne looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe I should ask Marco for a job patrolling the island."

"That," Michi said, "sounds perfect for you. You can get away from the ship and enjoy the open skies you love so much."

Anne studied him for a moment, questioning what he meant, but said nothing in response. After a long pause, she pushed back to her feet.

"I'm going to get something to eat. I do not want company."

"Eh, but we were getting along so well?"

Anne growled, "I said no company and that means no company."


	20. Lightning Strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace has a bad dream and Anne gets into a fight

Ace regretted his hot-headed decision to take first shift after a few hours running the rigging up and down. He was already worn out from a long day and the storm to boot had sapped his energy with the cold. When Thatch came up to him and told him shifts were changing, he didn't even try to hide his relief. He passed Anne on her way back up top from the hold, but her lips curled in a snarl and he chose not to say anything.

He was out like a light the moment he fell face first into his hammock. Ace normally had botched up dreams that made no sense and today made a difference. He dreamed of Anne and Sabo and of Grey Terminal; of being pirates together, on top of the world. However, the dream took a dark turn and nothing he could do took the chill from his soul.

Ace woke up with a shout, fresh from the nightmare in which he saw everyone else dead, and gasped in surprise as his head hit the floor. There was no damage, but the sensation of having his boot snarled in the hammock while he hung in the air lasted long enough to set his head spinning before he turned to flame and tumbled.

There was a startled snort and the only other pirate sleeping in the room turned to him, half-awake and jaw hanging ajar.

"Whaz up?" Sham mumbled.

Ace shook his head vigorously. "Fell out of my hammock. Go back to sleep."

"Wrighty," Sham mumbled and turned away. Snores filled the empty space moments later. Ace sat on the floor, breath rushing in and out of his lungs. A face stared in his mind, clear as day. He buried his head in his hands and stayed like that until he could feel his heart slow and the calm that returned.

The ship was quiet, but only compared to how it usually was. No one talked, though he got a few polite greetings on his way up top. The sway of the ship was enough to tell him the storm had calmed while he slept.

It still rained lightly, the clouds a lighter gray than earlier. Ace shaded his eyes to look up at the crow's nest.

"Sleep well?" Thatch asked. He stepped off the rigging and passed his knife to the pirate next to him.

"Somewhat." Ace turned and saw a girl named Marleene at the helm. "Did Anne go to sleep?"

Thatch pointed to the sky. "She's up there somewhere. Offered to scout the island for us to save time."

"In the middle of a storm?"

"Didn't seem to think it would make a difference. Come on, Ace. She'll be back soon enough. What's with the worried look?"

"I got a bad feeling is all."

Thatch slapped Ace hard on the back. "Hah, at odds, and you still care. That's true sibling love if ever. Come grab a pint with me in the galley and tell me what's got your nerves all frayed."

"Thatch," Ace argued with a roll of his eyes.

"The only answer is 'Yes, Thatch. That would be wonderful, Thatch.' I am not taking  no from you right now."

 

Anne floated far above the island and the storm clouds that buffeted the island. She took a deep breath and smelled salt and a hint of lilac. She had taken note of a single port town on the far side of the island as she rose through the air, and was now on her way in that direction.

If she focused, she could still hear faint brusque voices from the ship over the sound of pounding rain and thunder. But only just barely, and she really didn't want to. The way Ace had looked at her, tired and worn, but still hopeful, weighed in her mind like a lead brick that would not go away.

After flying far enough over the clouds, Anne dropped down into the mist and dark. Lightning flashed by her side, making her flinch. She came out below the cloud level, the air thick with rain.

Just visible was the cluster of buildings that made up the port. A few people were out in rain coats, hoods pulled up as they walked quickly through the downpour. The streets were dark, not even lit by the street lamps except at a couple of the corners.

Anne moved around the town, on the lookout for anything unusual in the streets when a gunshot rang out from the Oceanside. She whirled around, a bullet flying past well off target.

Anchored off shore, a Marine Galleon bobbed on the waves. A shout went up and the deck became busy with activity. More gunshots sent bullets ripping through the air, harmless to Anne.

She dove, becoming good as invisible. Twisting in the air, a ripple of wind left her leg and slashed through the sail and the spar. There was more yelling, but no more gunshots. A moment later, a cannonball passed right through her midsection.

Lightning split the air, connecting to the ship’s figurehead. Sparks flew from the iron headed maiden. The captain bellowed another command and the gunfire continued.

Anne ignored the bullets, sending another slash of wind to cut into the port side rail. The marines there scrambled away as the side of the ship slid into the ocean.

There was a thundering crack as lightning lit the sky and Anne. Bouncing off the bullets in the air, the air sizzled through her body, white hot and breath-taking. For a split second, Anne blacked out, and plummeted into the water.

She gasped as the cold rushed into her bones, and then closed her mouth before she breathed in water. Her arms and legs refused to move, nothing more than weights like the rest of her.

The light vanished in moments, the storm above turning the water to pitch black only meters below the surface.

Anne squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she'd had at least said good bye before leaving. The memory of Ace's pained look now hurt in return. She felt she should have told him she still loved him even if he was an idiot.

Her back touched sand, and her hand scraped on coral. Something moved by her face.

Not even a minute later, her lungs refused to hold out any longer. She breathed in, water filling the space meant for air. Her throat burned.

 

The next thing she knew, Anne was throwing up seawater in violent coughs. Her ribs ached and there was a drained chill in her core.

"She's alive, Sir!"

"Then get the cuffs on before she goes untouchable again."

Anne looked up, only halfway aware as there was a click and the feel of ice on her wrists. Rain dripped down on her face.

"Alright, you pansies!" She twisted her head around in search of the commander's voice. "Quit your gawking and put those eyes on the sea. There's a pirate ship out there and they're bound to come looking sooner than later."

The man she was looking for turned away, pointing to someone she couldn't quite see.

"Come on, People! This isn't a side show in Alabasta! You and you, get our prisoner below decks!"

There was a pull on her wrists and the fog cleared from Anne's mind. She pulled back, surprising the simple seaman by putting his neck in a lock with her feet.

The air filled with the sound of every rifle at hand being aimed at her. Anne looked around. She was on the deck of the Marine ship, completely surrounded. The handcuffs on her hands were Sea Stone from the way they weighed, making it hard to focus, but she forced herself to think anyways.

"Portgas D Anne," The commander bellowed over the storm, "You are surrounded. You have no way out. Surrender and I promise you will not be harmed."

Anne rolled up to her knees. The seaman she'd knocked down scrambled to his feet and moved behind the row of rifles.

"Not harmed, that is until you put me on the stand. No need to pretend-" She squinted to see his medals and stripes, "-Seargent."

"Move and we open fire," he threatened, raising his hand.

"That sounds stupid," Anne quipped.

"Stand down! This is your final warning."

"This is yours."

Anne jumped. Several of the rifles went off and a few of the marines fell over. She flipped in the air.

"Don't shoot each other! Thomas, watch your back!" The Commander bellowed orders to his crew, drawing his own sword while his face turned a furious red.

Anne kicked out a seaman, snapping her cuffed hands around his neck and twisting him around as a meat shield as guns opened fire once more.

He sputtered, blood spilling out of his mouth. Anne dropped him and dashed into a cluster of marines. One went down with a splintered nose. A second dropped his gun after she smashed her fists into his throat. A bullet ripped through her shoulder.

A marine tried to hit her with the stock of his rifle. She caught his arm and pulled him over her hip and into the bearded lieutenant on her other side.

Anne rolled, picking up one of three discarded rifles and clubbed the next marine in the side of the head with it.

The commander lunged in, sword raised to cut the pirate down to size. Anne moved like a whirlwind, sweeping his blade to the side, planting her knee in his floating ribs and spinning past before he had time to react.

Anne covered a wince of pain by launching herself into the air again. A muscle spasm in her legs nearly made her lose her footing when she landed behind a startled marine in the middle of drawing his blade. She swept out his legs with  a low kick and dropped her elbow into his stomach.

Knives struck the deck right after she rolled to the side and kipped up into a low horse stance.

Balanced by three seamen on either side, a marine with the stripes of a captain faced her, two throwing knives in both hands.

One after another, he threw the knives. Anne dodged right, left, back flipped, and caught the forth between her cuffed hands.

"Gotta try harder than that, boys," she taunted, throwing the knife back with a flourish. "I am so out of your league."

The captain caught his knife in return, switching it for a heavier knife. "You can't fight off all of us."

"Watch me. I'm Portgas D Anne."

With a yell, Anne leapt back into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about how long it's been since my last update. I've been inching along due to life and distractions. Trying to get back on track.   
> Looking for some feedback on this chapter. I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to start the next chapter with the full second half of the fight scene or gloss it over with remarks on the aftermath. I want to know what you, the readers, want to see. Thank you in advance for your patience and dedication to this work. It's a favorite of mine and I love to see it get some love from others.


	21. Devongreen Rose

A few hours later, the beating rain turned to a light misting and the dark storm clouds thinned to several small puffy wisps. The wind died to the barest of breezes, leaving torn and worn sails hanging limp on the broken masts. Streams of sunlight turned the wet deck into a shining surface of thinning red. A few trails of sticky liquid ran down the side of the hull in thin lines.

It was a sight to make anyone reel. Men and women in blue and white uniforms lay strewn over every inch of polished wood. There were several with dents in their skulls in the shape of a bent and misused rifle.

A good rough dozen of the bodies showed signs of being shot, while a couple others had been hacked into a few pieces. A booted foot sat upright five feet from it's dismembered owner.

A figure no longer recognizable as either gender twitched in agony, it's clothes melted into it's skin, burnt and slowly dying. It lay surrounded by three others with bones broken at odd angles and singed sleeves.

A face with no eyes stared up at the new sky, a look of horror on his lips. A young woman lay with her legs crossed awkwardly, neck broken.

Keresene dripped off the helm, pooling on the deck and inching closer to the edge.

A barrel, once full of gunpowder for the cannons, still burned with a bright yellow light, though it was slowly shrinking.

A crow let out a shriek as it lit on the rail to oversee the prospects. His friends cawed back and landed in the middle of the deck on one of the bodies.

"Go Away!" She yelled, breaking the grim silence. The birds started, taking flight long enough to move to a new body.

Anne lay on her back, eyes aimed at the clearing sky with the swaying sail drifting in and out of her vision. She was bleeding out from the five bullet wounds she'd taken, but she had nowhere to go, and no energy left to do anything about it. The blood that stained her green shirt was both hers and everyone else's.

A crow hopped closer, peering at her curiously. She turned her head to look at it. It cawed softly.

"Whaddya want?" she muttered.

It fluttered its wings and cawed louder.

"Nah." She looked back up at the sky. "I'm not going anywhere."

It hopped closer, standing by her shoulder.

"Go away. I'm not food."

Thunk.

The crow cawed even louder and flew off, taking two of his buddies with him as they retreated up the broken mast.

Thump. Thump.

Footsteps pounded on the deck, sporadic as they moved through the carnage. Anne turned her head. White and black boots moved towards her, topped by white pants lined with blue.

"Shit, more of you?" Anne summoned her remaining strength and push up onto one elbow.

"Stay down or I might have to kill you early." The stern woman's voice was surprisingly kind instead of angry. Anne ignored the advice, pushing up to her hands. A cold weight touched her head, sapping all her strength instantly.

The weight moved to her collar after falling back onto her back. A lined woman's face framed by waved strawberry blonde hair under a sailor's hat smiled down on her. A decorated white coat was draped over her shoulders, showing a low cut, navy blue blouse with a yellow sash.

Anne stared, trying to figure out where she'd seen that face before.

In her hand, she gripped a silver cane that rested on Anne's chest, the tip edged in a dark metal the same color as the cuffs on Anne's wrists. At a distant call, the woman looked away.

"Yes, Howard. Let's make sure the dead get a proper send off. Make a list and do your best to keep the pieces together. Greenbor, if you would go inform the doctor we have a patient?"

"Yes, Commodore!"

She looked down again and smiled.

"It was Anne right? Portgas D Anne?"

Anne wanted to fight, to knock away the cane and punch until the eerie queasiness in her gut went away.

"I've been looking for you and your brother for a long time. He wouldn't be in the area, would he?"

"Why would I even tell you?" Anne snapped.

"You wouldn't, but it never hurts to ask. Don't worry, I have no intention of harming you further. I want you alive to answer a few questions. Irine will patch you up, you'll get some rest and then we will have a very long overdue chat."

Two marines jogged over with a stretcher, setting it down on the deck next to Anne. She gasped when one of them placed their hand directly on the bullet hole in her shoulder.

"Watch it, asshole," she growled.

The marine looked up at his Commodore and the woman gave a short nod. "Take it easy, but be on your guard. She had a reputation before the devilfruit and clearly still possesses that skill. Under no circumstances do the handcuffs come off."

"So strict." Anne tried for an easy smile as the two men moved her onto the stretcher. "You can't seriously think I still have the energy to fight after all that?"

The woman scowled. "Just like your father, I see. Well? What are you numbskulls waiting for? Get her to Irine post haste!"

Anne wanted to demand an explanation, bothered by the quip on her father and the unnerving familiarity of the woman's face she couldn't quite place, but the two marines swiftly moved through the bodies, and the female Commodore moved on to supervising the clean up. Carried across a boarding plank to a second Marine ship that had moved up alongside, Anne gave up trying anything until later, much later.

 

 

 

It wasn't until several hours of clear skies had passed that Marco took Ace's paranoid jitters seriously.

"She should have been back by now," Marco admitted with a sigh, darting his eyes to the still empty air above. "Something must have happened."

Ace locked his hands behind his back to keep from throwing them up in the air. "That's what I've been saying for the past five hours. She could be dead by now."

"Let's take a breath, Ace." Marco waved to Thatch. "She could just be stuck in a situation, or drinking in a tavern. She is prone to willfulness."

"Not without telling someone. She only did that Once, to piss me off."

Thatch joined them. "You wanted me for something?"

Marco told him, "Get the crew moving. I want everyone not on guard duty separated into search parties to find Anne. Two in the skippers to circle the island and the rest on the ground. She might be hurt, she might have gotten lost or distracted."

Thatch nodded once and took a step away when Marco thought of something else.

"Oh, and make sure each team has a mini den den mushi. I don't want anyone else getting lost out there."

"Of course."

Ace looked to Marco expectantly. Marco rubbed his forehead. "I know. There's no way you'll be able to focus staying here."

"She's my sister."

"Then go with Thatch and help him. Consider this a test of your command skills. I need to know if you can keep your head on straight when she's in a pinch."

"I'll be fine. It's not the first time she's gotten in trouble."

Marco smirked. "Maybe, but threatening to burn a town to the ground is not what I want to see in my commanders."

He took a moment. "That was once. And I only threatened a couple of buildings, not the entire town."

"And stringing up the barkeep for drugging her drink?"

"He deserved it!"

"Setting marines on fire one by one until they squealed?"

"How do you even know about that? No one knows about that except Anne!"

"She told me. While laughing about it."

"Oh."

"Do I need to continue?"

Ace sighed, "No. I get it."

"Good. Now get out there and find that elusive Wind Devil."

Adjusting his hat, Ace walked down to where Thatch was rounding people up and putting them into groups.

Thatch smiled sympathetically. "Land or Sea?" He asked.

"Sea."

"Alright, you'll be taking charge of Yuuno's group. That makes ten. Good Luck." Thatch pointed to a cluster of nine pirates in the midst of moving one of the life boats down to the water.

"Thanks. Same to you."

 

At the same time

 

Anne woke from her anesthetic nap with a sandpaper taste on her tongue and a numbness to her right arm. The room was dim, being a iron barred cell set in what looked like the Marine ship's hold. The only thing in the six by six space besides her was the thin blanket between her and the floor.

She sat up and groaned, suddenly feeling the stitches in her skin. She peeled her shirt away from her skin and was startled to see it was not green. Instead she wore a baggy gray sweat shirt over the bandages. Her pants too had been changed to gray sweatpants, and her boots nowhere in sight.

"Damn." Anne lay back down on the blanket. After her second time being locked up, she'd made sure to have lockpicks hidden in her boots at all times. "Looks like this is the end of the line, Grandpa."

In her head, Garp scowled at her and gave her a stern lecture on her life choices and where they'd get her: a cell or death.

She laughed to herself.

A door opened. Anne sat up and put her back to the wall. The woman from before walked in, stopping at the cell door and pulling a stool off the wall to sit on. The door closed and locked with a click.

"Commodore," Anne said.

"Pirate," She retorted, placing her kairouseki cane across her knees.

"Thanks for the save, but you can go now."

"Was that supposed to be funny?"

"Maybe. Can I help you with something, Lady?"

"I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me."

Anne sighed. "No, I do not know where the One Piece is. Yes, I'm an ass. No, I am not telling you where Ace is."

The woman's face gained a few more lines as her brows came together. "Your father was Gol D Roger, yes?"

"My father is Whitebeard."

"That is not what I heard."

"Then you heard wrong."

"Did I? You go by the surname Portgas."

"Our Mother's name. Is that important?"

"Before I married and became Devongreen, I was Commodore Portgas Rose. My sister, Portgas D Rouge, was in love with Gol D Roger."

Anne's jaw slowly dropped.

Rose took a deep breath and let it out. "So, you never knew."

"About you? No!"

"Then your father was Gol D Roger?"

Anne ground her teeth. "Just because he impregnated our Mother doesn't make him our father."

"If you insist." Rose ran two fingers along her cane. "Did you actually know Rouge?"

"She died in childbirth. But I know I look like her. Grandpa showed me a picture once."

"Grandpa?"

"Monkey D Garp. Surely you know him."

"Yes," Rose hissed quietly. "I know him. He raised you then?"

"If you call pawning us off on his connections raising us," Anne snorted. "He stopped in every couple years. By the way, if my Mother was your sister, should I be calling you Auntie?"

"Don't even dream of it. Your Mother disgraced our family by bonding with such a man. It is a relief that most people don't even remember my maiden name after twenty long years."

"Ouch." Anne smirked. "Butthurt much?"

"You are a child," Rose chided. "I do not expect you to understand the consequences of your own actions, much less hers."

"I am hardly a child. I'm perfectly aware my only options right now are escaping or the noose."

"Then you, just like your father, face the future with hilarity and cheap thrills."

"I face my future with dignity. I chose this life, for better or worse. Don't you dare chalk it up to cheap thrills."

"Cheap is all it will ever be when you get by with pillaging and murder. I've seen your rap sheet. The destruction in your wake is enough to make lesser folk retch. You have the skills to be an extraordinary Marine and yet you choose to use those skills as a criminal, sowing chaos in the world."

Anne jumped to her feet, only swaying for a second as she found her feet. "I choose to be a pirate because there is nothing for me on your side of things. Not when I was a child, living in wreckage, forgotten and hated by everyone that knew who I was. Not when your precious good society killed my brother in cold blood. Not when the only way to live and get ahead was theft. Go ahead and call me what you like, but it will never compare to what I endured to get where I am today. You think you know the world when it can cast children adrift without a second thought."

Rose paused, thoughtful.

"What do you mean, your brother died? I have not heard of Ace being killed yet."

"Not Ace. I had another brother, a friend, as good as blood. He wanted a better life, a life with people that mattered and was killed for no God Damn Reason."

"I am sorry for your loss," Rose said, not even blinking. She peered up at Anne, inscrutable expression like a wall for all it offered of her thoughts. With a decisive nod, Rose stood and hung the stool back on the wall.

"Thank you for answering my questions. Perhaps I will speak with you before I hand you off to the courts."

Anne seethed. The door opened at Rose's soft knock and closed swiftly on her heels.

With a wordless roar, Anne slammed her foot into the bars. The metal creaked, but remained unbent.

"GodDamnit!" she cursed and sat down once more.

 

An hour later

 

"Ace!" Ryan, a usually stoic man Ace only knew in passing, yelled quite suddenly, drawing Ace from his view of the beach to starboard. "We got a problem."

The others on the boat looked as well, most squinting over the bow. Ace lifted his spyglass and zoomed in on the single flag he could see just around the point of land they had still to round. The Marine symbol stood out on the furled white cloth at the top of what could only be a galleon's mast.

"Damn. That's going to complicate things." Ace put away the spyglass and lifted his wrist. On it he wore a mini den den mushi, a communication device that looked quite like a snail. It clicked when he touched the shell part.

"Ace here. We've spotted a Marine Flag on the Eastern shore."

There was a pause. Then Marco's voice came out, the snail's mouth moving much like a human's would in time with the words.

"This is Marco, Do you have a count on how many ships?"

Ace motioned for the others to pick up the pace. "Not yet. At least one Galleon though."

"Report in when you have more information. As for the rest of you, make your way back to the ship as fast as you can. I don't want any of you being caught by surprise out there."

There were several responses of the other search party leaders confirming the order. Ace shifted his position towards the bow and waited impatiently for the boat to turn around the coast.

They cleared the beach and the clustering of trees that didn't quite make a forest, and saw the bay. clear blue water ended at a long pier. On the closer side, a dry dock and shipyard took up the beach and rocky land.

Ace had no words for the terror climbing his throat. They could see the Galleon flying the Marine flag sitting in the bay, right next to another ship that looked like it had been cut to pieces with a giant sword. The center mast had been cut mere meters above the deck, leaving the majority to lean out over the spar and the water. Upon closer inspection with the spyglass, Ace caught sight of the marine flag hanging limp from that ship.

"You alright, Ace?"

"Fine." Ace swallowed and lifted the den den mushi once more. "Ace here."

"Go ahead," Marco responded.

"Two ships. One looks like it went through a blender though. Like how Anne likes to cut ships into tiny little bits?"

"Can you see her?"

"Not from here. If we get any closer, we'll be spotted for sure and blown out of the water."

"Keep back then and make sure they don't go anywhere. We've almost got everyone back on the ship. Once they are, we'll be heading to your location."

"And if it looks like they're going to leave?"

"Don't do anything stupid, Ace. Just keep an eye on them."

 

Moments later

 

Devongreen Rose savored the green tea her aide handed to her as she filled out a report on her current findings. This part of the job was always the boring part: paperwork and orders. She leaned back in her chair and took tally of the day so far.

Early that previous morning, she had received word from Captain Hawthorne that he had sighted one of Whitebeard's flagships. She had immediately changed course to join him. Only then the storm happened. It was nothing her ship couldn't handle, but it meant sacrificing her course by a few degrees. Degrees that cost her time. She had arrived to find a bloodbath with only enough survivors to count on two hands.

The death toll was more because of blood loss and lack of medical care than it was due to the actual injuries, but all caused by one person in the end. The courts would sentence Anne to an execution for sure for this if not for the rest of her crimes.

Add onto that, she had finally found some answers to the questions that plagued her for the past four years, and having the culprit in custody, the day had come out fairly well so far.

"Reporting in, Commodore."

Rose slowly set down her teacup and turned to face the marine standing in her door with his head down.

"Report away."

"No one questioned in the port admits to seeing pirates. While they could be hiding them, there is no evidence to that either."

"Hardly a problem. Keep up the town presence. If they are here, we will make them surface before too long."

"Yes, Commodore." He stayed put.

She peered at him.

"Was there something else?"

"Lookout spotted a rowboat to the south. Undecorated. It came around the curve for a few minutes and then turned around."

She tapped a finger on her desk, calculating swiftly. "How is the state of the dead?"

"Almost done. They have a dozen more to move into position."

"And all personal belongings have been catalogued and stored?"

"Yes, Commodore."

"How many people do we have on shore?"

"Two squads."

"Two. Good. That will leave just enough to deal with an emergency. What was your name?"

"Private Cooler," He replied.

"Cooler, please inform the burial crew to wrap things up so that we can finish later."

"Yes, Commodore."

He bowed his head an inch lower and stepped out the door.

Rose lifted her teacup for one last sip. She cast a smile at the picture of  her and her husband hanging on the wall. She put away the writing utensils and swept her officer's coat over her shoulders, picking up her cane, and leaving the cabin for the open air.

"Commodore on Deck!"

She strode up to the helm and stamped her can once for attention.

"There is bound to be a pirate ship nearby. Everyone should be on high alert and report anything suspicious. In order to preserve the dead, we will move further out of the bay. Lieutenant Baird, I want those guns ready at a moment's notice. Let the shore crew know they are on standby until told otherwise. Helmsman, put us five hundred yards out. Dismissed!"

There was the sound of a hundred salutes all together right before everyone went to work. Rose remained where she was, running through battle scenarios. Crew scurried to and fro, moving gunpowder and cannonballs, running up and down the rigging to change the shape of the sails.

The Galleon began to move, swinging around and headed out. Looking slightly grumpy, Baird stood next to her and sniffed at the brine air.

"You look pleased."

Rose nodded. "One down, one to go, and we might even get bonuses today. Think about it and you'll be pleased as well."

"Whitebeard pirates." His jaw worked. "Could go badly."

"I can handle Whitebeard and his lieutenants. I have fought many of them in the past."

"Have you really? Those are stories I could stand to hear."

"Not happening. I don't talk about those stories for good reason. Go check on the prisoner. Make sure she's bound properly."

"Can I point out-"

"No, I am not being paranoid," Rose cut in. "I know what runs in her veins. I know what she can do. There is no precaution I will not take. Now get down there."

He nodded, a sharp stamp of the foot and descended below deck.

 

Across the Bay

 

"Damnit, they're moving." Ace shoved his spyglass into his pocket. "We're out of time."

"Marco told us to stay put."

"And they're moving."

"So long as we can see them, we'll be fine. Relax. Your sister can take care of herself. You should know that better than anyone else."

Ace shot a mild glower at Ryan. "Anne gets herself into trouble more often than not. She's wild and unpredictable at best. At worst, she's downright reckless."

Ryan smiled over the bow, taking another look at the Marine Galleon through the spyglass. "Never seemed that way to me, but what do I know? Oh, hey, they got a bigshot over there. Someone with one of those fancy coats."

"Probably a Captain rank. Anything higher than that wouldn't travel without a fleet."

"Probably."

"Then I want you to move closer. Not within firing range, but keep them in sight."

"Don't think we need to. Take a closer look, Ace."

Skeptical, Ace peered at the ship once more, watching sailors move back and forth on the deck.

"Damn, they know we're here."

"Looks like it.

"Screw watching, then. Turn us around. We'll go meet up with Marco and make a battle plan."

 

In the Hold

 

Anne pressed her back into the corner of her cell. The sword wound in her leg itched, gnawing at her mind as she did her best to avoid scratching the stitches out. She set her head back, gazing up at the ribbed ceiling and let out a sigh. The stomp of the boots overhead were steady, like the beating of a drum or several drums

Shifting her weight, she inspected the handcuffs, hoping though not expecting to find anything new to exploit. The smooth metal felt like ice on her skin, the loops and welds nearly flawless.

She heard the door open again. There was no sound of the door closing, only boots pounding.

"On your feet!" Lieutenant Baird cracked with a snarl under his mustache. Behind him walked two marines: a girl with her black hair in a partial braid, and a boy with bright red hair.

Anne scowled at the trio. "We haven't even left port, so what's the big deal?"

He unlocked the cell door and strode in, lifting her up by one arm. "I said, on your-"

His words turned to a groan as her elbow collided with his nose.

"Lieutenant!"

"Stand your ground, Officer Devongreen," Baird commanded, meeting Anne's mischievous eyes.

"Officer Devongreen?" She mused, shifting her gaze to girl that had spoken. "So, I've got a cousin too? How quaint."

"Bite your tongue, Pirate." Baird seized hold once more on her arm. In his other hand, he lifted a key and placed it in the lock of the handcuffs.

In a flash, her attitude changed. Her grin vanished, leaving only fire in her eyes. Grabbing his head, she brought her knee up into his nose. He grunted and grappled back.

Glad for once for all those practice sessions with Ace, Anne easily countered his attempted grapple, putting his back into the floor with his sword arm in a lock.

Metal touched her neck.

"Let him go," The young Officer Devongreen said. Anne eyed the black edged blade laying against her skin.

"You know," Anne suggested, "You could always ditch your tight ass mom and come with me."

"Commodore Devongreen," She responded, "has made it clear to us who you are and the kind of things you are willing to do. If you do not release Lieutenant Baird, I will make you pay the price in skin."

Anne flicked a glance at the red haired boy looking a little nervous with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Though his face looked calm, the white knuckled grip on his weapon betrayed his lack of experience.

"Fascinating." With a smirk, Anne released Baird's arm and rolled backwards to her feet. "You know me, but do you know your mom?"

Baird jumped to his feet and slugged Anne in the jaw. She stepped back and rubbed the spot.

"That Is Enough. Hands." He motioned and Anne offered hers up,

Baird was less than gentle in locking her hands together behind her back. With that done, he gave her a shove to the door. The two younger marines both took up holding one of her arms and marched her along.

Anne's head remained on a swivel as they walked her past a couple other open cell blocks, one of which held a couple of rough folks. There was little to see as they went up the two floors between the cells and the top deck, though she did spot what was likely to be bunks through a cracked door.

Sunlight hit her eyes. The two holding her kept walking, half dragging her at this point as they picked up the pace. Blinking, Anne cleared the spots from her vision to find herself standing by the foremast.

A beefy marine stepped up, sliding a length of chain around her arms and the mast. With a click, a set of shackles were fitted to her ankles, also secured to the mast.

"A bit overkill isn't this?" She asked.

"With you, nothing is too much." Rose swept down the deck, dismissing the others except for her Lieutenant and daughter with a hand wave. "If I had the option, I would kill you on the spot just to be safe."

"Lovely. Shall we have tea and biscuits then?"

"Sure, if you survive the encounter. All hands at the ready!"

Noting the direction of attention, Anne whipped her head around, finally able to see the familiar sight of Marco's ship.

 

Marco called, "Bring her about!" He took his place at the stern, scanning the enemy crew as his swung to a parallel heading. He grimaced at seeing the opposing officers.

"May I ask a question?" Ace asked.

"Go ahead."

"Do you plan on sinking them?"

"It's an option." Marco considered the marines. "Not one I want to take, but-"

"Someone over there you don't like?"

"See the woman in the officer coat?"

Ace nodded.

"That's Commodore Rose. I'd heard she'd retired after getting married and having kids, but I guess she signed back up."

"Commodore. She tough?"

"Rose is vicious, cold-hearted and self-righteous. She gives no quarter and prefers to kill over taking captives when she has the choice. Plus, she's got your sister. Look there."

Marco directed Ace's gaze. Ace swallowed twice.

"She's alive. For now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace felt his heart skip a beat.

"It means Rose will use her as leverage. And trust me when I say she will kill Anne if it comes to a fight. Go get ready. You're going to need your head on straight in a few minutes.

Ace grunted incoherently and headed off. Marco clenched his jaw, unable to not imagine the worst.

"Hold Position," He announced as they came around, sitting side to side with the marine vessel and close enough to hear the bellow of commands from the other side.. He stepped up to the rail.

"Commodore," He yelled across. "Been awhile."

Rose looked to him and clasped both hands on the handle of her cane. "Why, hello Marco. I see you're still up and kicking. Perhaps I can help you with that?"

"Not today, thank you. You have one of my crew. I'd like her back. In one piece if you please."

"Now, Marco. You know I can't do that. The Wind Devil is far too important to just give away."

"Are you really willing to fight us over one prisoner, Commodore?"

"Since when have I ever given up on one prisoner? Especially when I have the rest of you within my grasp." Rose raised her hand. "Port side, Fire!"

Cannonballs rocked the ship. Marco grabbed the rail.

"Return fire!" he yelled. The sound of the blasts covered his next order, but they already knew what to do. The first ropes were tossed.

Ace was one of the first to cross over. He launched upwards and came down hard on a trio of marines.

"On your left!" Thatch barreled into a pair of blokes with a roar.

"Jump!" Ace spun, releasing a ring of fire with his legs around them.

They stood back to back, clearing the deck so more of the pirates could jump over.

Ace ignored a couple of bullets that passed through him, harmless, and shot off a blast of fire.

Blue fire hit the deck, following the red. Marco lit on the spar overhead, arms transformed into great blue wings of fire.

"Ace!"

He turned and narrowly dodged the swing of a sword that nicked his arm. The young Devongreen carved a line into his shoulder with her kairouseki edged rapier.

"Your head is mine," She threatened, thrusting once more.

She was fast, Ace ducked and dodged, gaining a few more nicks as he moved away from her each time. Right about to give up on going unscathed, Blackbeard threw in the mix, wrapping his thick arms about the girl in a crushing hold.

"Go save your sister, Firefist," He urged Ace. "I'll take care of this one."

Ace spun on the spot, sprinting through the fray. The space by the foremast and the bow was surprisingly clear of fighting, though no one stopped him from getting through.

Dispatching two Officers, Marco dropped down next to Ace as he came to a stop, only a couple meters from the mast. Looking pristine, Rose stood there, her cane revealed to be a cane sword that she held at Anne's throat.

"Really, now?" She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "If you aren't just so predictable."

"More like you made it to happen this way," Marco clenched fists, the blue wings swirling into nothing around his arms. "You're manipulative and cruel."

Rose smirked. "I have a proposal for the boy then. He can try and save his sister, or he can give himself up. If he does that, I'll let her go and tell my men to stand down. Otherwise she'll die for sure."

Anne opened her mouth, about to protest, but Rose pressed her sword into Anne's skin, drawing blood.

"Uh-uh. Say anything and I will make this very unpleasant for you."

Marco put a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Don't. She'll never give up Anne for you, no matter what she promises."

"Yeah, I got that already." Ace shook him off. "What I want to know is why you look so much like Anne."

Rose showed teeth. "More like, why does she look so much like me? Your grandfather really should have told you about me. Poor planning on his part, but considering he kept you alive-" she shrugged, "-can't give him much credit in the first place."

"You're-" Ace stumbled over his tongue. "You're our Aunt?"

"Something like that. So, about your sister. Should I filet her now, or later?" Rose pressed a little more, cutting another inch into Anne's flesh. Anne bit her lip rather than let out a whimper.

"Stop it!" Ace yelled. "We're family. How could you-"

"Family? As if I would let something so flimsy get in the way of my work. This is simple, Ace. Either your sister lives today, or none of you do."

He balled up his hands tight, letting the flames climb to his elbows. "That's no choice."

"Sounds like one to me. Easy. Take her place and this can all be over."

"She's lying, A-" Anne stopped short as Rose plunged her sword into Anne's chest.

"Anne!" Ace launched himself forward, fire rolling off his fist. Rose peeled out, cutting at Ace's back. Marco stepped in, blocking with a haki sheathed leg. Before she could attack a second time, he switched feet, kicking her clear across the deck.

Ace dropped to his knees, holding Anne's head in his hands. Her eyes were unfocused, eyelids fluttering up and down. The only thing keep her mostly upright were the chains binding her to mast.

"Anne?"

She coughed. "Idiot."

He laughed. "At least you're still alive."

"Key," she started and then coughed hard. "Get- the key."

"Hey, take it easy. I'm not going anywhere."

Anne took a moment to muster up a glare for him and muttered. "Key. Now."

Marco glanced down at the two and grimaced. "Ace, take her back to the ship. I'll get the key." He knelt, wrapped his hands around the chain and wrenched the links apart. After Marco snapped the shackles apart, Ace gathered Anne into his arms and took off running at the rail.

He lunged, springing up with a burst of flame from his feet. From the quarterdeck, he hurried down the steps to lay her out in the infirmary.

She'd passed out sometime on the way down, her head lolling to the side when he set her down.

"Anne! Damnit, stay with me." He reached for a pair of scissors and gauze.

 

Marco kicked his way through the grunts until he reached Rose again. She dispatched one of the newer members with easy and turned to face him.

"Where's the key, Portgas?" He snarled, launching a sidekick at her. She sidestepped and countered with a slash that he spun to avoid.

"The name's Devongreen, if you please." Rose slid into closer range, hacking and slashing faster than the eye could see.

"Devongreen. Whatever. Where's the key?"

She snarled, "As if I would tell you."

Marco dodged back from a stab. "Thatch! Find the key!"

He jumped, kicked through her guard and knocked her to the deck. Without hesitation, he transformed into his full pheonix form with claws and wing and dragged her upward.

She squirmed at first, but quit struggling when she saw the height he was straining for.

"You think this will make me give it up? I would die before doing that."

He turned his head back into a human's. "Oh, I know. I knew that ever since I first met you. But your crew. That's a different story."

Her face went white just before the voice came over his mini den den mushi.

"We're clearing out, Commander. We have what we came for."

"You're not going to drop me are you?"

"I'm not a sadist like you."

"Then what now?"

"Now, I put you down."

Marco dropped, fast. The wind whistled, yanking Rose's coat from her shoulders. Marco pulled up sharply, letting go of her arms just as he flew between the lines, rigging and sails. He wove past a hail of bullets and out after his fleeing ship.

"Welcome back," Thatch said as Marco landed.

"Good to be back. How many did we lose?"

"Five dead, thirteen injured, not including Anne, who is alive and uncuffed."

Marco turned his face upward and closed his eyes. "Five. That's better than I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"Worse, like the last time I faced Rose."

"Then this is good news?"

"Relatively. We'll hold a funeral once we're a day out. In the meantime, get the repairs done."

Thatch threw up a joking salute, but Marco somberly stalked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit of a long one. Lots of things needed to happen in a short amount of time. Threw in a couple new perspectives to add flavor.  
> Also, if you enjoy my writing style or just want another way to keep up with my updates, feel free to follow me on twitter @EmeryldL


	22. Go Your Own Way

"Another," Anne said to the bartender, pushing her empty glass across the counter.

She leaned on her arms, closing her eyes as she listened to the sound of the alcohol pouring.

The door chime rang. She picked up her refilled glass and took a sip of the rum.

Chairs scraped on the floor. Feet stamped in and out of the bar.

Anne drained her cup and called for a refill. The bartender silently complied.

Laughter split the air. Glasses clinked.

The stool next to her spun. The body that sat on it called for a Bloody Mary.

"Come here often?"

"Fuck off."

"Just being friendly."

"Shove it."

"Mean."

A blast of wind knocked him off the stool.

"Hey!"

"Get lost, creep."

"Bitch."

The lights rattled, a gust blowing through the bar sliced up the floor.

With a shriek, the man ran from the building.

The bartender picked up a mug and began to clean it. He looked at Anne and then at his floor.

"Don't even think about it," Anne warned.

"Think about what?" He asked.

"Saying anything about it."

"Wouldn't dare." He set aside the cleaned cup. "Should I put up a keep away sign?"

"No need. Just get me another cup." She pushed her empty cup towards him.

He smiled and set the half full bottle on the counter instead.

"Someone break your heart?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Anne tossed took a drink from the bottle.

"You'd be surprised the number of people that come in to get drunk because they got dumped, or cheated on. So what's the story."

She shrugged. "My Aunt is a sadistic bitch and tried to kill me."

He winced. "Sorry to hear it."

"Don't bother. I just wish I'd been able to kill her."

The waitress stopped over to hand over a platter of dirty dishes. The plates and silverware he moved to a bucket behind him while the cups got lined up on the counter to be cleaned one by one.

"Pirate or bounty hunter?"

"Those my only options?"

"I don't think being asked if you were a serial murderer would go over well and you don't look like a marine. Assassin too. So, what's your poison?"

"Preferably alcohol." She filled her cup and drank up the rest of the bottle.

"So, Pirate."

"Yup. You gonna call the cops?"

He chuckled. "Half my customers are pirates or worse. don't kill anyone and we'll be fine."

"I can work with that." She stared at her cup.

A customer called for his check. The bartender sidled down the bar to fill another drink.

Glasses touched. A chair rocked, clacking on the floor.

The door opened, chiming softly.

The bartender looked up and frowned.

"I wouldn't sit there if I were you," he warned.

The newcomer touch his bright orange hat. "Thanks, but I'll be fine."

The bartender looked at Anne's scowl and shrugged. "No killing in the bar, please."

Anne lifted her glass, somberly considering the light brown liquid.

"Can I get a shot of rum?" her neighbor requested.

The drink was poured and handed over, but not drunk. He sat there holding it for a good long silence before shooting it back.

"They made their decision today," Ace announced.

"That's great."

"I'm going to be the second division commander and Thatch is being moved to the fourth."

"Congrats."

"Can't you at least pretend to be happy for me? We're moving up in the ranks."

"We?" She glared at him, eyes bloodshot and shadowed from too much drink and not enough sleep. "There is no we anymore. There hasn't been a we for awhile now."

He frowned. "What does that mean. It's you and me. Always. The only reason I accepted is if I got to take you with me."

"Yeah, take me with you. It'll be the same thing. You get the big name, the commanding seat and the power. I get to sit in your shadow."

"Hey, you have never been in my shadow."

She growled.

"Okay, maybe for a bit, before you got the devil fruit and after I got mine, but- but that's past. No one thinks of you that way."

"Yet, you're the one they considered for commanding. Not me, Ace. Never me."

"Of course they considered you. They considered a whole lot of people."

"Bullshit."

"Come on, Anne. This isn't you."

Her hand blurred. The glass shot across the room, shattering into a hundred glass needles that pierced the wall and dripped there. "Yeah, it's me. It's always been me. I'm the one that gets pissed. The one that laughs in the face of death. I'm the one that takes all the risks, goes as far as possible to find solutions. I'm the one that causes the biggest splashes. And there's you, riding my wake. Getting the credit as Captain. Cool headed and in charge, just because I'm the opposite."

"Anne," he pleaded, voice soft and hand held out cautiously. "That's not-"

"Not how you see me. I know. It makes me sick."

"I-I don't know. What is going on that you're only now bringing it up?"

"As if you don't know." She put her head in her hands.

"I don't. You've never acted this way after a fight, no matter how badly cut up you've been."

"You think this-" She paused to grip the counter. "You think this has to do with nearly dying. Damnit, Ace. You're an idiot."

"Then tell me what's wrong. I may be an idiot, but I'm your damn brother."

"You wouldn't understand." She stood and fell completely off balance. Ace started to help her up, but she slapped away his hand.

"Get lost. I don't need any damn help."

"Anne."

"Get lost." A blast of air knocked his hat off. He raised his hand to bat away one of the posters that tore off the opposing wall, and Anne vanished. The bar door slammed open, the hinges bent the wrong way. They could hear the sounds of something colliding with a wall and then nothing.

The bartender sighed. "You paying for that?"

Ace grimaced. "Uh, yah, just- well let me go get my wallet," he muttered and ran out the door.

It was dark outside, though the streets were well lit and populated with the city folk. Ace sprinted along the pavement, looking every direction for a sign of Anne.

A week had passed since their unfortunate encounter with Devongreen Rose. While Anne had healed up well enough, she'd been more moody and sour than usual, prompting him to go out on the bar hunt when she skipped out for four hours.

They were docked at a large city with a flourishing trade center. It also happened to be one of the islands under Whitebeard's protection and one of the few places they could dock openly.

"Anne!" He called. "This isn't funny!"

Walking along, he paused at seeing a large dent in the side of a grocer's store and stepped down the alley nearby. Broken glass cracked under his feet.

"Anne? You down here?"

A gust ripped it's way down the alley, tearing through Ace. Then there was a strange sound. The wind died, letting him hear the sound of retching. Jogging further, he found Anne leaning on the top of a garbage can, breathing heavily.

"Why don't we head back to the ship?"

"Don't wanna." She wiped off her mouth with the back of a hand.

"Come on, A. No need to-" He ducked as Anne suddenly threw a wild punch.

"Don't call me that." She put a hand to her mouth, trying not to throw up again.

"I shouldn't use your nickname?"

"No. Not you, not after- ugh. Fuck this." She leaned on the garbage can again.

"Sorry. Can we head back now? You need to rest."

"What I need is to bash your face in." She lunged again, missed and lost her balance. Ace caught her with one arm around her middle.

"You are in no condition to bash anyone's face in. We're going home."

"Let go of me." Anne pulled at his arms, but she could feel her strength slipping away.

"There is no way I'm letting my sister kill herself with alcohol." He reached down and scooped up her legs and held her so her head rested on his shoulder.

She pushed at his chest to no avail. Groaning, she gave up.

"Fine, I'll pummel you later. But don't tell anyone?"

He rolled his eyes. "Right, like I'll be able to sneak onto a ship with like twenty people on deck."

"I don't want them to know."

"Not like it's the first time you've gotten drunk off your ass. Whatever. I won't tell anyone, alright?"

When she didn't reply, he glanced down as saw her eyes had closed. He sighed and started back towards the docks.

 

 

 

Ace worried for a moment when Anne didn't show up to leave the next day. Suspecting she'd headed back out into town to drink her way into a ditch, he decided to finish packing before looking for her, again.

"Roger," Ace stopped the fellow pirate with the touch of his hand on his shoulder. "Did you see which way Anne went?"

Roger nodded. "That I did. Went over to the Moby Dick with Marco an hour ago. Didn't she mention it to yah?"

"No, she didn't," Ace said, frowning at Whitebeard's personal ship currently anchored off shore.

"Well, that's where she at last I saw. No need to worry at least. Don't think last night will happen again, eh?"

Ace sent a scalding glare at Roger and turned on the ball of his foot. She'd fill him in when she got back, hopefully. The way she'd been talking the night before still weighed on his mind. Ace didn't like the idea that she still had issues with being the weaker twin, or worse, that no one saw how strong she really was. He liked it even less that it felt like she didn't realize how strong she was, and how hard he had worked to not get left in the dust.

He didn't see Anne until well after he had finished moving to his new ship. She was on deck, talking to Marco as if about a funeral. Ace scratched at his chin and strode towards them.

"-and no need to worry about the cost. Show them this and you'll get what you want," Marco said, handing a folded piece of paper to Anne. "Have you thought of who else to bring with?"

"I've had a few ideas," she said, tucking the note into her pants pocket. "When do you plan on setting sail again."

"Three days. Ah, Good Morning, Ace."

"Morning, Marco. Missed you earlier, Anne."

"I did not want to wrestle with the pounding headache I've had since I woke up." Anne smirked. "Been a long time since I got a hangover though, so it must have been quite the night."

He inquired carefully, "Do you remember anything?"

"I remember deciding I needed a drink, and telling a couple of creeps to scram. And I think, maybe, you joined me for a bit?"

"I was there to bring you back. So, what did you need to talk to Whitebeard about?"

"Oh, not much." Anne looked away.

Marco looked from Ace to Anne and back again. "Anne has chosen to go her own way, Ace. I know you wanted her to be your Lieutenant, but she had other plans."

"What plans? Anne, what are you up to now?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"I think I need to if it involves you being hare-brained or reckless."

"Well it doesn't."

Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, Marco politely bowed out from the conversation. Ace sighed.

"Do you plan on telling me anything?"

"It's simple. I want to get stronger and I can't do that if I'm surrounded by a thousand underlings. I'm going to get set up with a small ship of my own and put together a crew of ten or so."

"And do what? Go challenge marine bases?"

"Course not." Anne folded her arms. "I'm not an idiot."

"Then how do you plan to get stronger like this?"

"It's what Whitebeard had in mind when I mentioned my desire to improve. He wants me to tour his territories, even try my hand at claiming land in his name if I can."

"On your own?"

"Ace, we've been a team our whole lives. Can't I try to be a pirate on my own for a bit?"

"Can I be worried about my sister?"

"Sure, but not so much it gets in the way."

"It's not getting in the way. You just have a tendency to get over your head. Over my head."

"I'm not in over my head. I just-" Anne took a breath and closed her eyes. "I can't travel with you anymore."

Ace gaped. "You can't travel with me?"

"We're a pair. Everyone knows that. And that'll get us screwed over. I want to get stronger and I'm not going to do that if I'm always next to you."

"You're plenty strong, Anne."

"Am I? I got captured by Marines. I lost that fight, and you had to save me."

"And if our positions had been switched, you'd have done the same." He put his hands on her shoulders, fixing his eyes on hers. "We're stronger together and you know that."

"Are we?" She shrugged him off walking below deck.

He followed her. "Of course we are. Without you, I'm nothing."

"Without me, you won't have a weak link. Ace, I love you, but I gotta do this." She stopped at the girl's bunk room. "You have a new ship to settle into and I have a crew to put together. Go. It's not the end of the world, just our, what do they call it, status quo."

"I hate it," He muttered.

"Too bad." She held up the piece of paper in her head. "I have Dad's blessing and I am flying with it."

"Write me," Ace said.

She rolled her eyes. "Or I could just call you. Get a den-den mushi. Go, get lost. I have packing to do."

 


End file.
